How to use DORA Metrics to improve DevOps practices and start delivering better business outcomes
Tags: dora, devops, management
Published: 2023-02-21 17:32:21

## What are DORA Metrics?

DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) metrics are a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure the performance of software development and delivery processes in a DevOps environment. These metrics were developed by the DevOps research group at Google, led by Dr. Nicole Forsgren, and are widely used in the industry.

The four main DORA metrics are:

* **Deployment Frequency**
* **Lead Time for Changes**
* **Mean Time to Recover (MTTR)**
* **Change Failure Rate**

Let me explain to you further each one of them.

### Deployment Frequency
This metric measures how often code changes are deployed to production. It is typically measured as the number of deployments per unit of time (e.g., per day, per week, or per month). A high deployment frequency indicates a fast and efficient delivery process. It also enables organizations to release new features and fixes to users more frequently and respond to market changes faster. However, a high deployment frequency must be balanced with stability and quality to avoid introducing bugs and errors into the system.

### Lead Time for Changes
This metric measures the time it takes for a code change to go from commit to deployment. It includes all the steps involved in the software delivery process, such as code review, testing, and deployment. A shorter lead time indicates a more streamlined and efficient delivery process. It also enables organizations to respond to market changes and user feedback faster and with higher quality.

### Mean Time to Recover (MTTR)
This metric measures the time it takes to recover from a production incident or outage. It is typically measured as the time between the detection of an incident and the resolution of the issue. A lower MTTR indicates a more resilient and efficient infrastructure. It also enables organizations to minimize the impact of incidents on users and business operations.

### Change Failure Rate
This metric measures the percentage of code changes that result in a production incident or outage. It is typically measured as the number of failed changes divided by the total number of changes deployed. A lower change failure rate indicates a more stable and reliable system. It also enables organizations to minimize the risk of introducing bugs and errors into the system and to maintain user trust.

## And why do I want to use DORA metrics?

The DORA metrics are not meant to be complicated, but rather to provide a standardized set of measures that organizations can use to assess their software delivery performance. The main reason to use DORA metrics is to gain insights into the effectiveness of your DevOps practices and identify areas for improvement.

The most important benefits of using DORA metrics are:

* **Objective Performance Measures**: The DORA metrics provide objective performance measures that can be used to assess the effectiveness of your software delivery process. By using these metrics, you can gain a better understanding of how your organization is performing relative to industry benchmarks and identify areas where you can improve.

* **Standardized Metrics**: The DORA metrics have become a widely accepted industry standard for measuring DevOps performance. This means that you can compare your organization's performance to other organizations using the same metrics, and you can use the metrics to communicate your performance to stakeholders such as customers, executives, and investors.

* **Focus on Continuous Improvement**: The DORA metrics are designed to encourage a focus on continuous improvement. By tracking these metrics over time, you can see the impact of process changes and improvements on your software delivery performance. This enables you to make data-driven decisions about how to optimize your DevOps practices.

* **Alignment with Business Goals**: The DORA metrics are designed to align with business goals such as speed, quality, and reliability. By improving your performance on these metrics, you can increase your organization's ability to deliver value to customers, respond to market changes, and achieve business objectives.

## Now that I know the benefits of using DORA metrics... how do I implement it?

From the simplest to the more focused on DORA metrics, here you have a few tools that you may find useful:

* **DevOps Scorecards**: DevOps scorecards are a visual representation of your performance on the DORA metrics. You can use Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, or dedicated DevOps scorecard tools such as Jira Align or Asana. 

* **Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD) Tools**: Many CI/CD tools, such as Jenkins, CircleCI, and TravisCI, provide built-in support for the DORA metrics. These tools enable you to track deployment frequency, lead time for changes, and change failure rate automatically. You can also integrate these tools with other monitoring and analytics tools to gain more insights into your performance.

* **APM and Monitoring Tools**: Application Performance Management (APM) and monitoring tools, such as New Relic, Datadog, and AppDynamics, can provide visibility into your system's performance and identify bottlenecks that affect your performance on the DORA metrics. These tools enable you to monitor key metrics such as response time, error rates, and resource usage, and analyse them in real-time.

* **Value Stream Management (VSM) Tools**: Value Stream Management (VSM) tools, such as Tasktop, Plutora, and ConnectALL, enable you to manage your entire software delivery value stream from end to end. These tools enable you to identify bottlenecks in your value stream, optimize workflows, and track your performance on the DORA metrics.

Remember that there are not better tools than others, but tools that fit better in your organization. As a starting point, you can use the scorecards if you are not using any project management software yet, and this is better than not tracking anything. So start with the tools that you feel better and improve it as needed.

## As a bonus tip, some recommendations in how to start implementing DORA metrics

* **Define the Metrics**: The first step is to define the DORA metrics you want to track. You may want to start with one or two metrics and gradually add more as you become more familiar with the process. It's important to ensure that the metrics are relevant to your business goals and are aligned with your organization's strategy.

* **Set Performance Targets**: Once you have defined the metrics and chosen the tools, set performance targets for each metric. These targets should be realistic and achievable, based on your organization's current performance levels and the industry benchmarks. Performance targets can help motivate your team to improve and focus on continuous improvement.

* **Monitor and Analyse**: Once you have set performance targets, start monitoring and analysing your performance. Track the metrics over time and compare them to your performance targets. This will help you identify areas where you need to improve and where you are doing well.

* **Continuous Improvement**: Finally, use the insights you gain from monitoring and analysing your performance to continuously improve your software delivery processes. Use the data to make data-driven decisions about how to optimize your DevOps practices and improve your performance on the DORA metrics. This will help you achieve better business outcomes and provide more value to your customers.

By following these recommendations, you can begin to use DORA metrics to assess and optimize your software delivery process. Remember that the process of continuous improvement is ongoing, and you should always be looking for ways to improve your performance on the DORA metrics.

## Conclusion
What cannot be measure cannot be improved, so using DORA metrics can help you to optimize your software delivery process, improve your DevOps practices, and achieve better business outcomes.