Measure DORA, SPACE and developer experience.
DORA metrics measure software delivery (deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure rate and time to restore service), SPACE measures developer productivity across five dimensions, and developer experience (DevEx) measures the friction developers feel. Measure DORA from Git, CI/CD and incident data, SPACE from a mix of system data and surveys, and DevEx from surveys tied back to system data. Waydev measures all three on one data model across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps and Jira, and adds AI coding tool impact.
- Deployment frequencydeploys / period
- Lead time for changescommit → production
- Change failure ratefailed / total × 100
- Time to restorerestore time / incidents
- GitGitHub · GitLab · Bitbucket · Azure DevOps
- WorkJira · Azure Boards
- SurveysSlack · Teams
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The four DORA metrics
| Metric | Formula | Data source | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deployment frequency | Production deployments / period | CI/CD, release tags or merges to the release branch | Deployment frequency |
| Lead time for changes | Time from first commit to running in production | Git plus deployment events | Lead time for changes |
| Change failure rate | Failed production deployments / total production deployments x 100 | Deployments plus incidents, reverts or hotfixes | Change failure rate |
| Time to restore service (MTTR) | Total time to restore / number of incidents | Incident tool or hotfix deployments | Mean time to recovery |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Example: 3 failed deployments out of 10 gives a change failure rate of 30%.
How to measure DORA metrics across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Jira
- Connect source control. In Waydev, connect GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps (cloud or server) with read-only access. History is backfilled, so baselines appear within days.
- Define what a deployment is. Waydev detects releases from merged pull requests to a release branch, from repository tags, or from the deployments API. See detecting releases with repository tags.
- Connect work tracking. Link Jira or Azure Boards so lead time and cycle time map to tickets, epics and initiatives.
- Define failures. Mark incidents, reverts or hotfix branches as failed changes for change failure rate and time to restore.
- Group by team. Map contributors to teams so each team sees its own DORA dashboard.
- Review and act. Use the Waydev DORA Metrics dashboard and set Goals and Signals to alert when a metric drifts.
DORA dashboard for enterprises
An enterprise DORA dashboard rolls the four metrics up from team to group to organization, shows trend lines against a baseline, separates AI-assisted from human changes, and is visible to executives without engineering logins. Read DORA metrics in the AI era and board-level engineering dashboard metrics.
How to implement the SPACE framework
| Dimension | Example metrics | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction and well-being | Developer satisfaction score, burnout signals | Survey |
| Performance | Change failure rate, rework, customer-facing quality | System |
| Activity | Commits, pull requests, reviews, deployments | System |
| Communication and collaboration | Review turnaround, review depth, knowledge spread | System and survey |
| Efficiency and flow | Cycle time, time in review, interruptions, focus time | System and survey |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Pick at least three dimensions, never use a single activity metric alone, and compare teams with their own baselines. Read Applying the SPACE framework, DORA vs SPACE and SPACE when agents write code.
How to measure developer experience (DevEx)
- Run a short recurring survey on friction: build and test speed, review wait, documentation, focus time and tooling. Use the 20 DevEx survey questions.
- Deliver it where developers work. Waydev sends DX surveys through Slack and Microsoft Teams.
- Join survey answers with system data (cycle time, review time, interruptions) to confirm where friction is real.
- Track 9 core DX metrics over time. See How to measure developer experience.
Waydev feature: Developer Experience.
What is DXI and what are the alternatives?
DXI (Developer Experience Index) is DX’s single 0 to 100 score built from its survey. Alternatives are to track the underlying survey dimensions directly alongside system metrics, or to use a platform that combines surveys with Git and delivery data, such as Waydev, LinearB or Swarmia. See DX alternatives.
Git analytics: what it measures
Git analytics turns commit, pull request and review metadata into delivery metrics: cycle time by stage, PR size, review turnaround, rework and code churn. Waydev holds a granted USPTO patent on Git-based engineering measurement. Read Lead time vs cycle time, Cycle time formula and Code churn.
Questions engineering leaders ask
What are the four DORA metrics?
Which tools measure DORA metrics across GitHub, GitLab and Jira?
Is SPACE a replacement for DORA?
See DORA, SPACE and DX in one place
Connect GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps and get months of baselines within days.
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