Sure, but the parent was asking for an example of how it could become an empty metric — from my experience, this can happen when it goes outside the control of

Sure, but the parent was asking for an example of how it could become an empty metric — from my experience, this can happen when it goes outside the control of the team and "Goodhart's law" comes into play — When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. I'm not against meausring velocity, but I think it is a tool best used from within the team rather than from a management level > Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.