step by step guide to choosing delivery metrics
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:17 am
This article about delivery metrics is an adapted translation of “ Beginner's Guide to Software Delivery Metrics ”, written by Julian Colina. As it is a high-value content, we believe it can also be useful for the Brazilian Product community. Enjoy reading!
What are delivery metrics?
Delivery metrics are indicators that provide us with quantitative ways to measure a team's progress and performance .
They help us understand what the team’s delivery flow is like and what’s holding it back . In other words, they provide us with a tool to iterate/improve our delivery while helping us communicate progress to other stakeholders .
In this article, we’ll provide an easy framework for thinking italy mobile phone number about software delivery metrics and how they can help your team.
delivery metrics structure
Why are delivery metrics useful?
When you search for “Engineering delivery metrics,” the results are filled with the same incomplete list of confusing “top 10” metrics.
Fortunately, Dr. Nicole Forsgren and her team have done all the heavy lifting and summarized their findings in a book called Accelerate . It’s by far the most comprehensive look at high-performance engineering teams, with research across thousands of companies.
At Accelerate, Dr. Forsgren and her team have identified 4 key metrics that are proven indicators of software delivery performance. Their research across thousands of organizations has shown that if software teams can excel at delivery, their companies will perform better, too.
Elite performers—across all 4 key delivery metrics—not only delivered deployments up to 100x faster and more frequently , but their companies experienced higher rates of profitability , market share , and customer satisfaction .
Choosing the right delivery metrics
There are many things we can measure, but very few things we should .
Choosing the right metrics always starts with the ‘why’. The most important reason to use metrics is to drive continuous improvement .
Want to ship faster? Improve quality? Remove inefficiency? Metrics give us a tool to do it.
Instead of taking shots in the dark, metrics give us a strategic way to approach improvement. Allowing us to experiment, measure results, and improve at a much faster pace.
If you want a practical example, check out a great story about delivery metrics here , told by Splice's VP of Engineering.
In the rest of this article, we’ll discuss the types of delivery metrics and help you decide which metrics are important to your team.
Types of delivery metrics: Leading Indicator and Lagging Indicator
Leading Indicator and Lagging Indicators
A Leading Indicator is a predictive measure . For example, the percentage of errors in a test is a Leading Indicator of the quality of the product being tested. These indicators are a good metric to predict the result, influence the team's behavior and, consequently, improve metrics that we know as Lagging Indicators.
A lagging indicator is a measure of results. For example, the number of defects ( bugs ) can be a lagging indicator , since bugs only appear when a product is already in production. And the % of these bugs ends up resulting in a drop in the quality of a team's delivery. In other words, lagging indicators are used to assess the integrity of the team and identify large-scale problems .
What are delivery metrics?
Delivery metrics are indicators that provide us with quantitative ways to measure a team's progress and performance .
They help us understand what the team’s delivery flow is like and what’s holding it back . In other words, they provide us with a tool to iterate/improve our delivery while helping us communicate progress to other stakeholders .
In this article, we’ll provide an easy framework for thinking italy mobile phone number about software delivery metrics and how they can help your team.
delivery metrics structure
Why are delivery metrics useful?
When you search for “Engineering delivery metrics,” the results are filled with the same incomplete list of confusing “top 10” metrics.
Fortunately, Dr. Nicole Forsgren and her team have done all the heavy lifting and summarized their findings in a book called Accelerate . It’s by far the most comprehensive look at high-performance engineering teams, with research across thousands of companies.
At Accelerate, Dr. Forsgren and her team have identified 4 key metrics that are proven indicators of software delivery performance. Their research across thousands of organizations has shown that if software teams can excel at delivery, their companies will perform better, too.
Elite performers—across all 4 key delivery metrics—not only delivered deployments up to 100x faster and more frequently , but their companies experienced higher rates of profitability , market share , and customer satisfaction .
Choosing the right delivery metrics
There are many things we can measure, but very few things we should .
Choosing the right metrics always starts with the ‘why’. The most important reason to use metrics is to drive continuous improvement .
Want to ship faster? Improve quality? Remove inefficiency? Metrics give us a tool to do it.
Instead of taking shots in the dark, metrics give us a strategic way to approach improvement. Allowing us to experiment, measure results, and improve at a much faster pace.
If you want a practical example, check out a great story about delivery metrics here , told by Splice's VP of Engineering.
In the rest of this article, we’ll discuss the types of delivery metrics and help you decide which metrics are important to your team.
Types of delivery metrics: Leading Indicator and Lagging Indicator
Leading Indicator and Lagging Indicators
A Leading Indicator is a predictive measure . For example, the percentage of errors in a test is a Leading Indicator of the quality of the product being tested. These indicators are a good metric to predict the result, influence the team's behavior and, consequently, improve metrics that we know as Lagging Indicators.
A lagging indicator is a measure of results. For example, the number of defects ( bugs ) can be a lagging indicator , since bugs only appear when a product is already in production. And the % of these bugs ends up resulting in a drop in the quality of a team's delivery. In other words, lagging indicators are used to assess the integrity of the team and identify large-scale problems .