Beyond the DORA metrics: Measuring engineering excellence
Jan 25, 2024
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In this podcast, the hosts discuss the importance of measuring engineering excellence and business outcomes. They introduce EEBO metrics as a tool to align engineering projects with business goals. The podcast explores the principles and considerations of measuring engineering excellence using metrics and showcases a case study of a large bank in Europe. The hosts also provide recommendations for leaders on implementing metrics.
EBO metrics aim to connect engineering work to actual business outcomes, providing a holistic view of team performance.
EBO framework focuses on defining the philosophy and context of metrics, encouraging teams to align engineering work with business outcomes and avoid confusion in metric selection.
Deep dives
What are EBO metrics?
EBO metrics, which stands for engineering excellence to business outcomes, are a way to measure the intersection between engineering excellence and business outcomes. While engineering metrics are commonly used to measure factors like test coverage or DORA metrics, EBO metrics aim to connect engineering work to the actual impact on business outcomes. By measuring both the excellence in software development and the business outcomes, EBO metrics provide a holistic view of the team's performance.
The importance of measuring metrics
There has been a noticeable increase in interest in metrics, especially since the pandemic. However, it's important to understand the purpose behind measuring metrics. Some organizations may confuse the purpose of metrics and mix inefficiency and value stream metrics with metrics meant to help individual developers grow or measure the overall outcome of a team. The world is full of metrics, with around 700-800 metrics floating around just for product alone. Therefore, it is crucial to have a clear philosophy and understanding of what to measure and how to put metrics into context.
Creating a metrics framework
EBO metrics framework is not about prescribing a specific set of metrics, but rather about defining the philosophy and context in which metrics should be measured. Instead of providing a fixed set of metrics, EBO focuses on creating a line of sight between engineering work and business outcomes. It encourages teams to identify the definition of success for their team within their chosen metrics philosophy and connect it to the engineering work they are doing. It also addresses the challenge of aligning engineering work with business outcomes and avoiding anti-patterns and confusion in metric selection.
Examples of good metrics
While EBO does not provide a specific set of metrics, it suggests focusing on four categories of business outcome metrics: improvement in efficiency and effectiveness, improvement in user experience, increase in product influence, and market sensing. For example, a search team might track metrics like response time, relevant product display, link click rates, and market influence to measure the impact on business outcomes. EBO emphasizes the need for metrics to be multivariate, outcome-oriented, and properly modeled to avoid the pitfalls of singular-function metrics.
Is it really possible to measure the impact engineering teams have on a business' success? At a time when growth is challenging for many organizations and questions about productivity and effectiveness dominate industry conversations, getting it right is crucial. And although the DORA metrics are today well-established and extremely useful is it really enough? Do they actually help us tie the work we do to tangible business results?
In attempting to answer these questions, a group of Thoughtworkers have developed what they call EEBO metrics. These are designed to measure engineering excellence to business outcomes.
To discuss EEBO metrics, hosts Prem Chandrasekaran and Scott Shaw (CTO, Thoughtworks APAC) are joined by Dinker Charak (Principal Product Strategist) and Sachin Dharmapurikar (Global Product Manager). Charak and Dharmapurikar helped to develop EEBO metrics; they believe it can be a valuable tool in aligning often complex engineering projects and activities with high-level business goals and objectives. Listen as they explain what EEBO metrics are (and aren't) and how businesses should think about using them.
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