Stefan Stelzer & Volker Zöpfel

Metrics Handle with Care: The Paradox of Measuring Team Performance

Are your performance metrics encouraging developers to write bloated code and pad estimates? Learn how to measure what truly matters instead: customer value.

Metrics Handle with Care: The Paradox of Measuring Team Performance
#1about 2 minutes

Why measuring lines of code backfires on teams

Measuring developer productivity by lines of code encourages writing bloated, unmaintainable software instead of efficient solutions.

#2about 3 minutes

How ticket counts and estimates create perverse incentives

Focusing on the number of solved tickets or estimation accuracy leads to ticket-splitting overhead and padded estimates, ultimately reducing output.

#3about 4 minutes

Why managers resort to metrics due to lack of trust

Managers often use metrics as a proxy for understanding because software development is inherently invisible, leading to a breakdown of trust.

#4about 2 minutes

Building trust by becoming part of the team

Managers can foster a high-trust environment by getting involved with the team, creating psychological safety, and enabling ownership.

#5about 3 minutes

Using internal metrics for team self-improvement

Metrics like work-in-progress limits, review queue size, and codebase size can be powerful tools for a team to identify bottlenecks and manage workload.

#6about 2 minutes

Shifting focus to meaningful product-level metrics

Instead of comparing team-level output, focus on product-level metrics like quality, cost of usage, and availability to drive meaningful improvements.

#7about 1 minute

A summary on measuring with the right attitude

Effective measurement requires a healthy team environment, a clear target for the metric, and a focus on what truly improves the product.

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