In a climate of evidence-based management, performance indicators and metrics, it is useful to know how existing metrics are actually used and what relationship this has to their originally intended use. An important part of this is the ways in which people integrate numerical indicators in to their narrative about organisational performance and their assumptions about what the numbers mean.

As an example of the issues surrounding simple performance indicators, this research investigates the development, use and effects of using elective surgery waiting list statistics to communicate information about the performance of the ACT Public Hospital system.