Every process needs KPIs that can help assess if you have been doing things the right way. While DORA metrics give you an indicator of your deployments, the KPIs for measuring the success of your release remain overly qualitative. To begin with, these two indicators are a must to be looked at:
Release Downtime: Most releases have a planned downtime built into their schedule as it might be a necessity. It is important to compare this estimated downtime with the actual downtime that is measured post-deployment. However, it’s also important to be able to differentiate between planned and unplanned downtimes as the latter might be a sign of root problems that are unfixed.
Types of releases done over time: Every release is either a major or minor and is prioritized as high, medium, or low. Over time, a look at the history of releases by type and priority will give you an idea of where you are: There is a serious problem in QA if there are too many major releases for the same product. Also, having too many high-priority releases indicates that the team is always in a fire-fighting mode and is unable to plan ahead.
Other indicators also include:
Number of releases delayed vs deployed on time
Budget per release
Impact of a release on the current version and users
If the release satisfies user needs, keeps up with technological advances, and meets competitive demands