I find that by logging workouts and measuring progress, I am much more likely to improve and know by how much I improved. Logging workouts can also save time. By logging my workouts, I know exactly what my target goals are for my next workout, so I can get in and get it over with instead of wasting time doing what "feels right" at the time. This works great for me, but YMMV.
"But we don't have this in software designs for the most part. We have the requirements, such as what the input and output looks like and the run-time constraints which dictate the maximum time a given operation is allowed to take. But there is much in-between these that is elusive to objective metrics. "
I pretty much stopped reading here. Elusive to objective metrics? I agree that you can't measure a program like you would a bridge, using physical laws such as physics and chemistry, but you very well can measure many aspects of it such as: efficiency, size, required resources, relative ease of use, etc. Just because it is not a physical thing doesn't mean we can't use a "scientific method" approach, we just need to be open to using metrics that exist in the digital realm.
Aside from a few odd cases like AutoCAD and Photoshop, I don't think most pictures are encumbered by DRM as of right now. I'm sure there are several companies that would love to change that, however. My comment was mostly a joke, but I could see a world in the not-so-distant-future where it wouldn't be very funny.
We'll be thinking how cool it would be to see pictures from the year 2000 if only they weren't locked away by DRM formats that are now unreadable in the year 2050. ;)
I find that by logging workouts and measuring progress, I am much more likely to improve and know by how much I improved. Logging workouts can also save time. By logging my workouts, I know exactly what my target goals are for my next workout, so I can get in and get it over with instead of wasting time doing what "feels right" at the time. This works great for me, but YMMV.