DORA and SPACE: Research-based Approaches to Measure Productivity

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Organizations are increasingly recognizing the necessity of research-based methods to measure productivity, particularly in software development. There's a pervasive challenge with misleading metrics and vendor-driven solutions that can harm productivity rather than enhance it. Two pivotal frameworks have emerged in this domain: DORA and SPACE. DORA, established through rigorous statistical research, highlighted four key metrics that correlate software delivery performance with business performance, transforming the perception of software development from a cost center to a vital business driver, reflecting the success of tech-centric companies. SPACE addresses developer productivity more holistically, emphasizing that productivity encompasses multiple dimensions beyond mere coding output, such as collaboration, planning, and customer interaction. These frameworks promote a nuanced understanding of productivity in software engineering, yet there remains a significant hurdle in effective measurement and application of these metrics. Continued efforts to refine the measurement and implementation of DORA and SPACE metrics aim to provide organizations with practical tools and strategies to enhance both software delivery and developer productivity across diverse contexts.

“Developer experience is an approach to thinking about engineering excellence and maximizing engineering performance by increasing the capacity and performance of the individuals and the team as a whole."

Abi Noda is the CEO & co-founder of DX. In this episode, Abi started by sharing what developer experience is, why it is becoming an industry trend nowadays, and the different ways of how it is being implemented in the industry. Abi explained why the traditional metrics normally used to measure developer productivity do not really work and can even provide perverse incentives. Abi then touched on the two popular researches widely known in the industry, i.e. the DORA report and SPACE framework, before then explained how DX is building on top of both researches to provide the measurements and KPIs to measure developer experience and productivity. Towards the end, Abi shared his advice on how we can start investing in improving developer experience, including when to form a dedicated team and getting the buy-in from company executives.

Listen out for:

Career Journey - [00:06:22]
Developer Productivity Industry Trend - [00:09:14]
Developer Experience for Developers - [00:11:28]
Different Names of Developer Experience - [00:13:30]
Traditional Metrics - [00:17:15]
DORA & SPACE - [00:21:16]
DX Measurements - [00:26:30]
DX KPIs - [00:32:01]
Starting With Developer Experience - [00:36:49]
Developer Experience Team - [00:40:49]
Building a Case for Developer Experience - [00:43:08]
3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:46:18]

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Abi Noda’s Bio
Abi is the founder and CEO of getdx.com, which helps engineering leaders measure and improve developer experience. Abi formerly founded Pull Panda, which was acquired by GitHub.

Follow Abi:

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/abinoda
Twitter – @abinoda
Website – abinoda.com
DX – getdx.com
Software Engineering Research – abinoda.substack.com

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For episode show notes, visit techleadjournal.dev/episodes/112.