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SPACE Metrics in High-Performing Engineering Squads

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Mike Wright
Mike Wright

Engineering squads are frequently evaluated based on performance metrics to quantify their efficacy. DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) has long been a go-to metric in this regard, focusing on operational parameters like Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, Change Failure Rate, and Mean Time to Recovery. However, the rising importance of SPACE metrics is shifting the focus to provide a broader understanding of the development process, with a particular emphasis on wider areas such as the planning stages along with engineer satisfaction and collaboration.

The Dawn of SPACE Metrics

SPACE metrics, encompassing Satisfaction & Well-being, Performance, Activity, Collaboration & Communication, and Efficiency & Flow, offer a comprehensive view of engineering squads:

  1. Satisfaction & Well-being: The team's satisfaction and mental health is evaluated to understand the overall work environment and employee morale. Higher job satisfaction, happiness and well-being often translate to increased productivity and innovation.
    • Metric: Job satisfaction, Burnout, Work-life balance, Retention, Reviews
    • How to Track: PR size, PR Time, Regular surveys, One-on-One meetings with managers, Employee NPS.
  1. Performance: Rather than merely focusing on output, this metric assesses the quality and effectiveness of the team's work along with the outcome of the development process. Tracking things like sprint goals work shipped, code review velocity, on-time delivery rates, and feedback from customers can provide insights into performance levels.
    • Metric: Sprint Goal Achievements, Approval Rate, Customer Satisfaction
    • How to Track: Sprint goals report, Project timelines, Code review velocity (avg time), Reliability (uptime), Customer feedback.
  1. Activity: By monitoring the team's activity and progress toward milestones, you can identify bottlenecks and areas of high productivity. Tools like JIRA, GitHub, or GitLab can provide insights into the team's daily activities and efforts.
    • Metric: Coding time (Avg time), Commits, Pull Request Size, Story Points Delivered, Deployment Frequency
    • How to Track: Version control tools like Git, Sprint reports, CI/CD pipelines, other Agile software metrics.
  1. Collaboration & Communication: Using communication platforms analytics (like Slack or Microsoft Teams) can help gauge the team's interaction, collaboration levels, documentation, and the quality of internal communication, key indicators of a well-coordinated and efficient team.
    • Metric: Sprint waste items, Active days on communication platforms (number of messages), PRs Reviewed per Developer.
    • How to Track: Analytics from communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams, Pull Request data, Confluence or Notion documentation.
  1. Efficiency & Flow: Tools like cycle time and throughput measures, available through project management tools, assess the team's ability to deliver value quickly and without interruption, helping to identify and remove blockers for a smooth workflow.
    • Metric: Throughput, Cycle Time, Work In Progress (WIP)
    • How to Track: Project management tools, Sprint/Kanban boards and Time-tracking tools (although we hate these).

SPACE: A New Frontier in Team Evaluation

While DORA metrics are essential in assessing software delivery speed and efficiency, they may not fully capture other crucial aspects impacting a team's overall productivity and well-being.

SPACE metrics excel here. They offer insights into team morale and communication, which are just as critical to a project's success as operational performance. Moreover, SPACE's Activity and Efficiency & Flow metrics offer a deep dive into the team's daily efforts and work processes, helping identify areas that could lead to better performance and higher quality output.

It should also be noted that in order to get the best results for each area of SPACE, you should track a minimum of 3 metrics at the same time and collate them to gauge their overall success. And while utilising more procise trackable metrics are important, measuring and understanding more nuanced perceptual metrics like surveys and team pulse my provide a well-rounded perception of the team's experience and productivity.

Conclusion: A Balanced Approach

The rising importance of SPACE metrics doesn't diminish the value of DORA metrics. It signifies a shift towards a more balanced and comprehensive approach in evaluating high-performing engineering squads. By considering both DORA and SPACE metrics, teams can aim for operational excellence without overlooking factors like team health, productivity, and sustainable success. The future of team evaluation may well be a blend of both SPACE and DORA, offering a well-rounded perspective on a team's capabilities, strengths, and areas for improvement.