The developer productivity metrics you should measure.
The next metric for this series is:
developer focus time.
Focus time is a premium commodity for devs.
Developers are constantly bombarded with distractions that rob them of focus time.
Support requests
Meetings
Drive-bys
IM
It’s extremely difficult for developers to get a few moments to write code in between the distractions.
In increasingly complex software environments, large chunks of focus time is necessary to make progress.
Ideally devs should have a block dedicated to deep work every day.
How much time should a dev get a day? At least 4 hours, but ideally 6.
It takes almost an hour to get into a mental flow state, and once that focus is broken, it can be difficult to regain.
Measuring developer focus time can be as simple as a small survey of your developers.
Increasing developer focus time leads to faster bug fixes, enhanced code quality, and faster throughput.
Best,
Andre