Developer Effectiveness: Optimizing Feedback loops

We all (hopefully) use metrics to measure and improve productivity. Common ones like the DORA metrics lead time, MTTR, change failure rate and deployment frequency, are really great indicators of team’s progress towards adopting a DevOps Culture. Analysing the processes that affect these and fixing the bottlenecks will yield big gains in productivity.

However we find that misses part of the story. To fully address productivity we should start with the things that developers do 1000 or 100 times again, micro-inefficiencies, that by themselves are not a problem, but quickly sum up to causes a lack of efficiency of the team, and general feeling of helpless.  

Great software engineering relies on the cognitive and creative ability of developers. High functioning organizations have created environments that allow developers to spend most of their energies on things that matter. 

Fixing the inefficiencies in the technical platform, but also with how the organization collaboration and communications, will lead to create results. Engineering Leaders have a large part in creating an environment conducive to the improving the developer experience. 

In this talk I will present research gathered from ThoughtWorks varied clients and projects, I will show some of the metrics our teams have identified as guides to creating the platform and the culture for high performing teams.