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DORA Metrics, or DevOps Research and Assessment metrics, are like measuring sticks used in software development to see how well teams are doing. They look at how fast software is being made and how often it breaks. These metrics are helpful but don’t always tell the whole story.

Going Beyond DORA Metrics

Do you have your own DORA metrics dashboard? Ok, it’s great at pointing out problems, like if there’s a big slowdown in the work process. But here’s the catch: it doesn’t tell you how to fix the problems it finds. It’s like going to the doctor, finding out what’s wrong, but then having to figure out the cure on your own.

That’s where Leanmote comes in. It doesn’t rely just on DORA metrics tools; it looks at team dynamics to get a clearer picture. It gathers data from tools like GitLab and Jira, where developers work on code and track progress. But it doesn’t stop there. It also looks at everyday tools like Slack and Google Calendar to see how teams are communicating and coordinating their work.

Rethinking Metrics and Context

Productivity can’t be measured solely by developers’ productivity tools and surveys. This may not provide a complete understanding of how developers operate, because it’s not all about the coding, it’s the context in which you are working too. What about the chats? What about the project management tools, the assigned tickets, and the number of events on the calendar?

While productivity tools and surveys offer valuable insights, they should be supplemented with a more comprehensive set of metrics to capture the complexities of work. These could be brainstorming meetings or collaborative moments.

In a recent report from Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends, it is highlighted that there is a need to rethink traditional productivity metrics. This report claims that organizations are getting better at tracking how well people work and what makes them perform better. This is because they can collect, measure, and analyze data much faster than before. They can then use machine learning or human judgment to turn this data into useful advice. For example, they can use a method called organizational network analysis to see how people in a company connect and work together.

The ultimate real metrics you need

To gain a holistic view, we consider three critical areas of measurement:

Performance: go from uncertainty about team efficiency to gaining insight through metrics like story points and time duration, allowing us to prioritize tasks, justify delays, and improve quality by addressing issues like bugs and incidents.

Time efficiency: the lack of structure in meetings and time spent hurts workload and efficiency. By tracking time, Leanmote makes alignment visible and finds ways to improve time management.

Connectivity. Internal Connectivity: Not knowing why someone has low pull request activity is a problem. Tracking their merging time and improving team connections boosts productivity.

External Connectivity: Measuring project complexity by stakeholder involvement. Identifying alignment costs, stakeholder numbers in sprints, and commitment levels make project management smoother.

But, (yes, a “but”), it’s not just about setting metrics. It’s about striking the right balance between different aspects to ensure a sustainable and productive development environment. To these, you have to add the counter-metrics, for example:

Performance vs. Connectivity: Workload. If you have many stakeholders, it will impact your workload as you need to align many things.

Performance vs. Time Efficiency: Working beyond regular hours affects productivity. How many meetings are held per sprint?

Delivery vs. Performance: If I know I need to increase deployment frequency but have a heavy workload and many stakeholders, I need to take that into account. DORA tells you what’s happening today but not why. Leanmote tells you why: if the project is more significant if there are many people involved, and many tickets, etc.

Bring Solutions to Your Team Instead of Problems

With all this, Leanmote provides leaders with a clearer understanding of their team’s dynamics. Instead of relying on guesswork or constantly asking the team what’s wrong, leaders can simply check the Delivery Management feature to pinpoint issues.

Going further, Leanmote provides the Team Diagnostics feature and offers quantifiable insights to understand why objectives aren’t being met. Finally, you have LeanOps which helps leaders to craft action plans and take intelligent decisions to solve the problems that are pushing your team back. 

With Leanmote, leaders can confidently make informed decisions, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. No more guesswork or blaming; Leanmote empowers leaders to guide their teams to success with reliable and complete data.

During the remote-hybrid work transformation, the focus has shifted towards optimising operations and ensuring efficiency in how teams collaborate and perform, regardless of their physical location. This change is fundamentally about empowering teams with autonomy and simplifying decision-making processes.

We created LeanOps, a philosophy encompassing operational efficiency and enhanced performance, which plays a pivotal role in achieving the new paradigm of work ⚡

What is LeanOps?

While TechOps meetings emphasize project metrics, LeanOps sets its sights on a deeper level of analysis—team analytics.

This is a broader perspective that emphasizes efficient teamwork, effective collaboration, streamlined communication, and data-driven decision-making. The core of LeanOps involves analyzing team metrics, evaluating performance, understanding collaboration patterns, and efficiently managing time.

By obtaining insights into these crucial aspects, organizations can redefine their operational strategies and continuously strive for improved performance.

Why is LeanOps Important?

Implementing LeanOps presents engineering teams with effective solutions to common operational challenges, fostering a culture of efficiency and performance excellence:

1. Swift Decision Making:

LeanOps propels swift decision-making by harnessing real-time data and insights, empowering teams to make critical decisions promptly and efficiently.

2. Eliminating Meeting Fatigue:

Data-driven discussions take the spotlight, efficiently addressing operational concerns without draining team energy.

3. Enhanced Communication:

LeanOps advocates for clear and transparent communication within teams, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings and promoting a cohesive team environment.

4. Streamlined Workflows:

Eliminates delays in handoffs between team members and promotes a seamless operational flow.

5. Operational Excellence:

Teams operate at peak efficiency by optimizing every aspect of their working processes. This optimization leads to enhanced overall performance and operational excellence.

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With Leanmote, you can unlock the potential of LeanOps within your engineering teams, leading your organization towards increased productivity, better collaboration, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Ready to Embrace LeanOps and Unlock Success?

We are here to guide you on your journey toward LeanOps transformation.

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In the ever-evolving landscape of business, mastering time management within the workforce is paramount. High-performers possess exceptional skills and dedication, but guiding them towards their peak performance requires a strategic approach. A proficient leader not only nurtures performance but also ensures the overall wellbeing of their team, recognizing the symbiotic relationship between productivity and employee welfare. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore how analytics can contribute to this crucial balance and amplify workforce efficiency.

When should you schedule meetings for optimal productivity?

Leanmote’s “daily activity” dashboard provides deep insights into how employees spend their workdays, breaking down their activities including meetings, Jira, GitHub, other tools, deep work, and breaks. This valuable data allows you to pinpoint the hours when your team is most focused and productive, enabling you to schedule meetings outside of these peak periods. When should you schedule your meetings to boost efficiency? Let Leanmote’s data guide your decisions.

Leanmote grabs data from your favorite productivity tools and dishes it out in engaging and insightful charts. Super easy to use—no techy background needed! 🚀

Sustainable Performance Over Time

Sustainability in employee performance is essential for long-term success. Understanding how employees allocate their time throughout the day allows leaders to avoid burnout by ensuring that work is evenly distributed. 

By analyzing the data provided by Leanmote, leaders can identify patterns that indicate potential fatigue or excessive workload, enabling them to make necessary adjustments and foster a sustainable performance culture.

Leveraging Data for Informed Decision Making

Leanmote’s performance analytics feature empowers leaders to make informed decisions based on concrete data. The ability to analyze how engineering teams interact with productivity tools and allocate time for deep work versus meetings is invaluable. It allows for a data-driven approach to workforce management, ultimately leading to enhanced productivity and efficiency.

In conclusion, Leanmote’s performance analytics feature, particularly the daily activity dashboard, provides companies with a powerful tool to optimize workforce efficiency. By leveraging data to fine-tune meeting schedules and promote sustainable performance, organizations can unlock the true potential of their workforce, ultimately driving success and growth.

Want to know more? Book a demo

Read: Why measuring employee impact is key to company success

Through people analytics, organisations can make well-informed decisions, boost productivity, and cultivate a more enriching work environment for their engineering talent.

In today’s data-centric world, the importance of People Analytics has reached unprecedented heights. Cultivating a people data culture can help Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) and engineering leaders gain critical insights into their team’s performance, time allocation, and overall productivity.

What’s productivity for an engineering team? 

Leanmote considers:

• Workload: work distribution, team capacity, deadlines, time spent in meetings & more.
• Efficiency: time management, resolution range, quality & more.
• Skills: We provide a solid starting point, customizable as per team, organisation, and tools.

With a comprehensive view of these aspects, individuals can effortlessly discern potential issues that require solutions and pinpoint areas for improvement. Moreover, this heightened perspective enables swift identification of hiring needs, specifically in areas where there is a dearth of skilled personnel in a particular role.

Furthermore, data-driven People Experience (PEx) is starting to arise, which goes beyond merely improving decision-making. It also plays a crucial role in creating a compelling employee experience, where people feel empowered and secure in sharing their data. 

See how we handle security

Combining insights and data-driven PEx strategies, businesses can cultivate an environment that nurtures both individual and collective growth. It’s a win-win!

How can engineering teams build sustainable growth and enhance performance with data? 

Let’s see 😉

• Real-Time Analytics: Performance indicators can be defined, allowing CTOs and engineering leaders to assess how effectively the team is progressing toward its goals.

• Time Allocation Analysis: Understanding how engineers allocate their time is crucial for optimizing processes and resource allocation. People analytics tools can track time spent on specific tasks, projects, or meetings, shedding light on areas that might require more attention or better time management.

• Identifying Top Performers: This knowledge allows for appropriate recognition, incentivisation, and talent retention strategies.

• Addressing Bottlenecks: Identifying these roadblocks helps leaders streamline processes, improve collaboration, and increase overall efficiency.

• Enhancing Employee Experience: When CTOs and engineering leaders understand their team’s challenges and accomplishments, they can create a better work environment. This fosters employee satisfaction, engagement, and ultimately, higher retention rates.

• Action plans: making a data-based strategy, you can create action plans to improve the overall team’s performance and wellbeing. 

• Transparency: Be transparent about the purpose of people analytics, how the data will be used and the steps within the new strategy. Also, empowers users with data control, allowing them to customize what they share and view their analytics. Clear communication builds trust among team members and minimizes concerns about potential misuse of data.
  
• Measure and show results: Understanding the true impact of the actions taken is paramount. It empowers PEx practitioners to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of their interventions. This evaluation, in turn, facilitates the adjustment of strategies, optimization of resources, and identification of the most successful approaches.

In conclusion, a people data culture serves as a powerful tool for CTOs and engineering leaders to gain a deeper understanding of their teams, optimize performance, and foster overall growth. 

Moreover, as the future of People Experience increasingly hinges on the power of data, those who wholeheartedly embrace this trend will undoubtedly position PEx leaders for triumph in the years to come.