New Release: DORA Metrics: What You Need to Know

If you're in the software development world, you've almost certainly heard the term "DORA metrics." Coined by the DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) team (now part of Google), these four metrics have become the industry standard for measuring the performance and stability of software development and delivery.
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But what are they, why do they matter, and how can you use them to improve your own team's performance?

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The Four Key Metrics

DORA metrics are split into two categories: velocity and stability.

Velocity Metrics

1. Deployment Frequency (DF): How often an organization successfully releases to production. (Elite performers deploy on-demand, multiple times per day.)
2. Lead Time for Changes (LT): The amount of time it takes to get code from commit to production. (Elite performers have a lead time of less than one day.)

We also like another metric, “Time Between Deploys” which is similar to DF, but simplifies it into the average duration between production deployments. Which is most useful in larger, legacy environments that aren’t deploying multiple times a day or week. 

Stability Metrics

1. Change Failure Rate (CFR): The percentage of deployments that cause a failure in production (e.g., a bug, service outage) and require remediation. (Elite performers have a CFR of 0-15%.)
2. Time to Restore Service (MTTR): How long it takes an organization to recover from a failure in production. (Elite performers restore service in less than one hour.)

Why It Matters

Tracking these metrics isn't about micromanagement. It's about visibility. By understanding your performance baseline, you can identify bottlenecks, make data-driven decisions, and empower your teams to improve their processes.

With Devgrid's new insights dashboard, you can now track all four DORA metrics automatically, giving you a real-time pulse on your team's health and performance.

Learn more about Devgrid Insights and start tracking your DORA metrics today.

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