What are DORA Metrics? Why are They Important in DevOps?

February 9, 2022 - 10 min read

Kat Boogaard

How do you improve DevOps and strengthen your operations? It all starts with measurement. You need to understand where you’re starting from and where you want to go.

When it comes to software delivery, there are different metrics development teams can use to measure and track performance. Teams need visibility into data to understand their strengths and weaknesses and how they can improve their DevOps capabilities.

That’s exactly why DORA created the four DORA metrics in DevOps. In this guide, we’re highlighting who DORA is, what the four DORA metrics are, and the pros and cons of using them.

What are DORA Metrics?

Before we outline the four key DORA metrics in DevOps, let’s cover a brief history lesson to understand where these metrics came from.

DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) is a DevOps research team that Google acquired in 2018. DORA uses data-driven insights to deliver best practices in DevOps, with an emphasis on helping organizations develop and deliver software faster and better. Today, DORA continues to partner with the Google Cloud team to release DevOps research and reports to improve software delivery within organizations.

In their 2018 research report, Accelerate: The State of DevOps, DORA compiled insights from six years of research to identify four key metrics known as DORA metrics. You can use these four key metrics to measure the performance of a software development team and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your DevOps operations overall.

We’ll take a closer look at the four metrics soon, but for now, here’s a high-level overview:

Deployment frequency
Lead time for changes
Change failure rate
Time to restore service

Since publishing the metrics, many organizations have started adopting and using them as the gold standard for software and DevOps teams.

What are the four key DORA metrics?

Let’s look at each of the four key DORA metrics in detail to understand how they can help you measure your team’s performance.

1. Deployment frequency

You might already be familiar with deployment frequency since it’s an essential metric in software production. Deployment frequency is about how frequently your organization or team deploys code changes to production. This ultimately reveals your team’s speed because it indicates how quickly your team delivers software. And while speed may be viewed in a positive light, it’s crucial to keep quality top of mind. Frequency matters, but you also want to deliver value to your users.

So, is there a right or wrong answer when it comes to deployment frequency? Not necessarily, but DORA qualified different deployment schedules in their 2018 report. In Accelerate: State of DevOps 2018, DORA suggested that elite performers are available on demand and commit to multiple deploys per day. High performers deploy between once per day and once per hour, while medium and low performers are between once per week and once per month. Don’t panic if you’re currently sitting in the low or medium-performer groups. There’s always room to improve and shift your way toward becoming an elite performer who delivers smaller code changes more frequently.

2. Lead time for changes

This is another metric that can be used to measure the speed of your team. Lead time for changes is defined as the amount of time it takes one commit to get into production. In other words, how long does it take to move from code commit to code running successfully in production?

You can calculate the lead time for changes by averaging the lead time for changes over a period of time for various commits. Calculating the mean is important because no two changes are the same and lead time will vary across different scopes and types of changes.

Why does this metric matter? It measures how quickly your team can respond to needs and fixes, which is crucial in the development world. Your team can better plan how much to commit to with an understanding of how long it takes to get your changes in production. And perhaps most importantly, this metric is essential for helping your customers. If your customer has an urgent bug that requires fixing, they likely won’t want to work with a team that will take weeks to deliver a fix versus a team that can get them back up and running within hours. A team that’s able to produce changes quickly will keep customers satisfied.

According to DORA’s research, elite performers have a lead time for changes that’s less than an hour. Talk about a quick turnaround! High performers turn around changes somewhere between one day and one week. Medium performers fall between one week and one month, while low performers take between one and six months.

If we go back to the customer who needs an urgent fix on their application, do you think they’re more likely to work with a high or low-performing team? While the answer might be based on many factors, it seems most likely that a customer would choose the quicker turnaround time and stick with the high-performing team.

3. Change failure rate

Next up is the change failure rate, or, simply stated, a measurement of the percentage of deployments that cause failures in production.

Deployment frequency was all about the speed of deploying code changes in production, and change failure rate emphasizes the quality of the changes being pushed to production. It’s important to note that a failure in production can be different depending on the software or application. A failure might be a rollback, patch, service outage, or degraded service. When using this metric, it’s essential to define what a failure is in your work for your team.

It goes without saying that you want to keep your change failure rates low. While it’s inevitable to avoid failures completely most of the time, you don’t want to lead to team or customer frustration. As you measure your losses, make it a team goal to learn from them so you can perform better the next time around.

DORA classifies elite, high, and medium performers at a 0-15% change failure rate and low performers at a 46-60% change failure rate. Diving into change failure rate even further, DORA reported that elite performers have seven times lower change failure rates than low performers.

4. Time to restore service

And finally, we have the time to restore service, also known as the time to recovery.

Let’s face it – service interruptions and outages aren’t ideal, but they do happen. While they might not always be avoidable, what’s important is how you respond to them. The time to recover or restore service measures how long it generally takes to restore service when an incident such as an unplanned outage occurs. It’s critical to recover and restore service as quickly as possible. The goal of optimizing time to recovery is to minimize downtime and prepare to diagnose and correct issues when they occur.

According to DORA, elite performers can recover in less than an hour. High and medium-performing groups take less than a day to restore service, while low performers can take anywhere between one week and one month to get back on track. Improving your time to recovery is a great way to impress your customers.

Why use DORA metrics?

So, why should you use DORA DevOps metrics? Sure, metrics and performance measurement are valuable, but what is it about DORA metrics that makes them uniquely reliable?

DORA has been researching and studying DevOps for years. They consistently and regularly publish their findings and insights to evolve and drive DevOps teams. DORA is, without a doubt, a well-known leader in the industry and its expertise is trustworthy and valuable. The four key metrics didn’t fall from thin air – they’re rooted in data-driven research.

Additionally, the DORA metrics will give you a broad understanding of your team’s delivery levels and capability. The metrics can be used to identify how you compare to competitors in your industry, and most importantly, they can help you better grow and take care of your team.

When you measure and track DORA metrics over time, you will be able to make well-informed decisions about process changes, team overheads, gaps to be filled, and your team’s strengths. These metrics should never be used as tools for criticism of your team but rather as data points that help you build an elite DevOps organization.

What are the pitfalls of DORA metrics?

DORA metrics are great tools to use, but as with any form of measurement, there are some considerations to keep in mind.

It’s challenging to use one set of metrics for different products and teams because no two products or teams are the same. Your product might be more complex than someone else’s. Your team might be three times smaller than another development team. Every team operates within its own context and circumstances, so it may be more challenging for certain teams to become an elite performing group.

Another consideration worth noting is that there’s more to the picture than the DORA metrics alone. Teams who perform in the elite or high category across the four DORA metrics may appear to be successful, but they could be having other issues that aren’t accounted for outside of these metrics. It’s important to remember that there’s a bigger picture beyond these measurements. They aren’t the be-all and end-all, so be sure to keep that in mind.

Recording your DORA metrics in Wrike

If you want to support your developers and product teams further, consider using a project management solution like Wrike to track your DORA metrics, assign tasks to the team, and manage the software development process in one centralized location.

Whether your teams follow Agile or another methodology, Wrike can help structure your software project management and make it more seamless. Get started with a free trial today.

Kat Boogaard

Kat is a Midwest-based contributing writer. She covers topics related to careers, self-development, and the freelance life. She is also a columnist for Inc., writes for The Muse, is Career Editor for The Everygirl, and a contributor all over the web.

#Product Management #development & engineering teams

Project Management 10 min read

The Ultimate Guide to Multi-Project Management

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Having this information allows a company to create and consolidate repetitive tasks across multiple projects within a portfolio. This approach can help improve the efficiency of all projects in the department. Difference between project management and portfolio management There are key differences between projects and portfolios but the biggest one lies in the very nature of what they are. A project is temporary, while a portfolio is ongoing. A project manager focuses on the requirements of an individual project, while a portfolio manager looks at all aspects of the organization’s operations. Project managers will also be able to appreciate the results of their work if they can relate to a single objective. Tips for managing multiple projects Start planning early. Having a project plan in place is very important when it comes to coordinating multiple projects. Use templates and task lists to outline key components before project kickoff. Manage time wisely. 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Each project schedule and project plan are displayed as a percentage complete and status indicator for reference. The project budget displays planned costs vs. the actual costs in real time, while visual charts display the various resources, risks, and issues affecting the projects in play. They can also be used to create reports and chart-based data sets. You may already be familiar with using multi-project dashboards if you have experience with Agile project management. 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They may be more likely to adopt the software if they see its effectiveness first-hand. List the activities that your team deals with and identify the key processes that have the most impact on achieving goals and targets. How to manage multiple projects with Wrike Wrike is an effective tool for project coordination no matter how many active projects you have on at the same time. With Wrike’s multi-project dashboards, you can quickly go over your work schedule, review progress, and approve changes where needed. It’s also a useful space for reflecting on projects and tasks throughout their entire lifecycle. But above all else, Wrike is the best tool for keeping track of the tasks that require the most effort. It does so by allowing you to rate the amount of work that each task requires. At the same time, you can keep up with all the details, such as deadlines and stakeholder approvals through detailed task descriptions. 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And with Wrike's Report Builder, users can customize the data so that it only reviews the most important metrics with updates made in real time so you never miss a beat. In conclusion Multi-project management is a process that can be easily used to jump-start various projects while keeping everything organized in one place. Having a solid foundation like the kind Wrike can provide will allow you to focus on what matters most instead of starting from scratch each time you begin, work on, or finish another project. Start Wrike’s free trial today to begin mastering the art of multi-project management.

Project Management 10 min read

What is Quality Assurance (QA) in Project Management?

Quality assurance (QA) is one of the final and most important steps of any product roadmap. Used in a variety of industries, including software development and construction, quality assurance verifies that a product or service is of the highest quality, which is an integral process for any company. In this article, we’ll explain the basic premise behind what quality assurance is and why it is important. Keep reading to discover how Wrike can be used as a tool for quality assurance. What does QA stand for? QA stands for quality assurance. It refers to the process or actions taken to ensure a product meets all of its requirements. Quality assurance is often used to track compliance and maintain consistent product management output over time. This is accomplished by ensuring that each step of the production process is thoroughly inspected and refined. The main benefits of QA include gaining a customer's satisfaction and confidence. This leads to higher sales and better customer loyalty over time. Quality assurance processes have become so critical that many companies have created their own dedicated department. You may also hear of a quality assurance system referred to as a quality management system. How is quality assurance used in project management? Quality assurance is used in project management to help companies avoid making mistakes and to minimize potential risks. With quality assurance in mind, project managers can start planning for the quality of their deliverables from the very beginning of their project plans. Doing so will highlight areas where they can improve their work, increase efficiency, and hold their team accountable. Not only does this strengthen a brand’s reputation, but it also cuts down on the potential exponential costs associated with fixing QA issues down the line. Quality assurance can be completed at any stage of the project process. It can begin with establishing a quality framework for the hiring process so that only the best, most compatible talent is brought on. After that, teams can perform self-checks to ensure that your work is conducted according to predefined standards. Regular QA monitoring can be built into project plans with other departments, or third-party entities can easily be looped in to give approvals. After a product has gone to market, teams can further track its quality by receiving customer feedback and implementing changes as needed. All of these quality assurance tasks can be organized and executed through proper product management. In fact, without a proper project management tool and strategy in place, companies are even more vulnerable to QA issues. For quality assurance issue prevention and resolution, having a clear understanding of what’s going on at all times is essential. What are the three types of quality assurance methods? There are three types of quality assurance methods that project teams commonly use. These methods can vary depending on the requirements of the company; however, you can count on using at least one of the following during the process: Statistical process control Failure testing Total quality management Statistical Process Control Statistical process control (SPC) is most often used for developing products with technology and/or chemistry involved. This can include everything from consumables to cleaning supplies to software. The SPC method monitors ongoing progress through charts and strives for continuous improvement. The steps involved in this quality assurance method include discovery, investigation, prioritization, further analysis, and charting. This can be done internally using project data, team input, and studies conducted by QA and operations teams. Decisions are based on facts and figures and will likely follow the scientific method approach. Failure Testing Failure testing is commonly used to test physical or virtual products. For physical products, that means whether the product will break down under pressure or in various usability scenarios. For example, crash testing a vehicle’s safety airbags would be considered failure testing. For virtual products, failure testing focuses on a program’s resiliency against a number of possible high-stress scenarios. Issues such as cybersecurity and transaction capacity are all evaluated. Overall, failure testing aims to assess a prototype or finished product and decide if it’s ready to go to market. Total Quality Management The total quality management (TQM) method aims to continuously improve products by using quantitative methods. Practically speaking, it helps build a process that is consistent and predictable. It does so using a variety of modules that help manage the various phases of a project. TQM also supports teams by relying on data and analysis to plan and implement future updates. It’s most popular for improving assembly-line efficiency. Regardless of which quality assurance method you use, having an execution plan is very important. It will help you keep track of all of the steps involved in the QA process as they happen. Teams can also track improvements over time and study trends as they progress. What is quality control in project management? Quality control is a process that involves inspecting, testing, and reporting outputs to ensure that they meet the requirements of the project. In order to achieve the highest possible level of conformance, decisions need to be made in all phases of quality control. Projects involve a wide variety of tasks and processes that are often subject to various forms of quality control. The project manager will typically always agree to follow quality control measures but having input from internal or external QA experts is a great idea too. Quality assurance and quality control are sometimes used interchangeably. However, they are distinctly different. Quality assurance vs. quality control Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are part of a quality system, along with other elements such as goals and procedures. Quality assurance typically covers all elements of a quality system, while quality control is a smaller subset. In other words, while QA sees the big picture (process), QC focuses on the details (finished products). Quality assurance examples Quality assurance examples can be found in many different forms across all industries. They can happen in businesses both large and small, and the issues they aim to solve or prevent may be identified by internal teams, external partners, or even their very own customer base. Here are some general examples to help illustrate what quality assurance looks like: Running cybersecurity tests on a user portal after a breach was exposed Revamping a car manufacturing process to better suit new safety standards Changing fabric suppliers after discovering that dresses aren’t reacting to dye as well as they did weeks before Designing a new bumper after data suggests its current design to be the cause of higher flat tire rates Weeding out possible vat issues after receiving complaints from customers that their granola bars made buyers sick As you can see, quality assurance plays an important role in a company’s overall success. From protecting customer health and private information to assuring that your brand image is consistent, these examples prove that QA is a non-negotiable asset for any company. How to use Wrike during the quality assurance process Wrike’s product management tools help you manage all your quality assurance activities in one place. Using our tool, managers can accelerate product launches through automation and go-to-market faster without sacrificing quality. Wrike does all of this using features such as templates and cross-functional team communication tools. Wrike offers pre-made templates designed by and for experts in your industry to ensure that you capture all the essential steps in every project. This lays a strong foundation for high-quality and consistent output. Wrike also allows users to create their own process templates. Once an issue is discovered, teams can easily implement a custom QA solution template into their existing project plans and take action that much faster. Whether you’re responding to an issue or monitoring to ensure one doesn’t come up, a project management solution that offers cross-functional team communication tools is a must-have for quality assurance. Wrike does this through several features. First, Wrike offers improved visibility into real-time reports through dashboards, charts, and detailed task views. Second, Wrike allows teams to involve everyone in the conversation. This happens through integration with third-party communication apps so that all discussion is organized no matter where it takes place. It also is made possible through secure project plan access to outside partners who need to view and approve of plans. Even within the program itself, teams can easily view succinct dashboards that outline where they are, what they have to do, and where the project is going. Team members can easily get one another up to speed on QA issues by pinpointing which tasks went wrong and reviewing in-task discussions to get a better understanding of the event. Get quality assurance discussions started across multiple departments and countries with our easy-to-use project management software. Start Wrike’s free trial to get better insight into your own processes now.

Project Management 5 min read

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What are DORA Metrics? Why are They Important in DevOps?

What are DORA Metrics?