HANDBOOK / IMPACT
Evidence before impact claims
An operational metric tells us what happened in a system. An outcome tells us whether it helped.
Minimum reporting record
State the measure, unit, baseline, observation period, method, source, limitations, and reviewer. Connect each outcome to the relevant project and deployment.
No invented counters
Do not substitute commits, stars, contributors, or downloads for human outcomes. Do not turn missing records into a zero or a success claim. Explicitly state when reliable data is unavailable.
Comparable and reproducible
Document uncertainty, confounders, collection consent, and aggregation. Avoid adding unlike units or currencies. Provide machine-readable records where it is safe to do so.