Why does cognitive system monitoring fail?

The most common reason cognitive system monitoring fails: Monitoring everything. You build a 47-metric dashboard for your morning routine and spend more time tracking than doing. Monitoring becomes the work instead of supporting it. The antidote is ruthless selectivity: monitor the minimum number of signals that tell you whether an agent is working. If a metric doesn't change your behavior when it moves, delete it.

The fix: Pick one cognitive agent you've already delegated to — a habit, a checklist, a recurring automation, a journaling practice, or a decision rule. For the next seven days, track two things about it: (1) whether it fired as expected, and (2) whether the outcome it produced moved you toward your stated goal. Record both in a simple two-column log. At the end of the week, calculate the hit rate for each column. You now have your first agent monitoring data.

The underlying principle is straightforward: Agent monitoring provides the data you need to optimize your cognitive systems.