How to Track DORA Metrics for DevOps Success
Industry Trends & Innovation
Read Time: 15 mins
The DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) framework introduces a core set of metrics designed to assess the effectiveness and maturity of DevOps practices. These metrics offer insights into how efficiently a team can implement changes, the typical time required to release new code, the regularity of deployments, and how teams handle and recover from failures.
This guide explores the four key DORA metrics, explains their significance, and outlines how development teams can leverage Open DevOps tools to track and improve their performance.
In recent years, the DevOps landscape has seen significant evolution, driven by research programs such as Google's DORA initiative and foundational studies like The Book Accelerate and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations. These works have introduced not only the DORA Engineering Metrics but also broader frameworks like the Four Keys approach, which serve as essential tools for evaluating and improving the software development process.
DORA metrics are a set of four key performance indicators used by DevOps teams to evaluate and improve software delivery. These metrics offer insight into how effectively a team deploys code, handles failures, and responds to incidents. The four primary DORA metrics include:
Historically, software development and IT operations functioned as separate entities with limited collaboration or visibility into each other's workflows. DevOps emerged as a transformative approach, uniting these once-siloed teams to foster better cooperation and more efficient delivery of software.
One of the key advantages of DevOps is the integration of cross-functional teams, which enhances solution quality and accelerates release cycles. DORA metrics play a crucial role in this ecosystem by offering a standardized way to assess and compare team performance.
Each DORA metric assigns a performance tier, Low, Medium, High, or Elite, based on measurable outcomes. For instance, a team that maintains a change failure rate between 0–15% qualifies for the Elite tier in that category.Â
Similarly, resolving incidents in under an hour earns an Elite rating for time to restore service. The team's cumulative performance across all four metrics determines its overall classification.
These benchmarks are valuable for identifying strengths and pinpointing areas that need attention. By providing clear performance indicators, DORA metrics helps teams.
Value stream management focuses on consistently delivering high-quality software updates that bring tangible benefits to the customer. Its true measure of success lies in the customer’s ability to recognize and experience the value created by these changes.
DORA metrics serve as foundational benchmarks in value stream management, offering key insights into:
Understanding DORA
DORA, which began as a specialized group within Google Cloud, was established to evaluate DevOps effectiveness through a defined set of performance metrics. The initiative aims to enhance speed, collaboration, and overall productivity in DevOps environments. These metrics act as a foundation for continuous improvement, allowing teams to benchmark their current capabilities and monitor progress toward specific objectives. DevOps plays a vital role in ensuring the stability and efficiency of business systems, enabling end-users to concentrate on their tasks without disruption. By using DORA metrics, DevOps teams are better equipped to:- Set accurate expectations for response times
- Enhance planning and workflow efficiency
- Pinpoint operational weaknesses
- Support strategic decisions around technology and resource allocation
Advancing DevOps with Four Keys and the Science of Lean Software
In recent years, the DevOps landscape has seen significant evolution, driven by research programs such as Google's DORA initiative and foundational studies like The Book Accelerate and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations. These works have introduced not only the DORA Engineering Metrics but also broader frameworks like the Four Keys approach, which serve as essential tools for evaluating and improving the software development process.
The Four Keys and the Science of Lean Software
The Four Keys, Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, Change Failure Rate, and Time to Restore Service, are grounded in the Science of Lean Software, which promotes small batches, fast feedback, and waste reduction. This framework provides a high-level view of how development and operations teams perform across critical dimensions of DevOps processes, empowering organizations to make data-driven decisions that reflect real-world performance. According to the State of DevOps Report research finds, high performers consistently excel across all Four Keys, translating to higher quality releases, shorter cycle times, and more reliable systems. These DevOps metrics are not just statistics, they are a useful tool to measure stability, reduce the team’s mean time to resolve issues, and improve total throughput for software teams.Operational Performance and Use Cases
To make the most of the Four Keys, software teams must align their DevOps strategies with customer needs. This alignment ensures that the metrics translate into outcomes that deliver successful releases with faster time to value. Several use cases have shown how regular reviews of these metrics can uncover the root cause of issues that hamper performance. Consider the following use cases:- An engineering leader uses the Four Keys dashboard to identify a spike in Change Failure Rate, prompting a retrospective that results in improved code review protocols.
- A DevOps team analyzes data sources from CI/CD pipelines to reduce total time from development to production, leading to a measurable boost in operational performance.
Keys to Sustained Success
While many organizations measure DevOps metrics, the best teams incorporate them into their culture through regular reviews, collaboration among team members, and by tying outcomes to business value. This is especially critical for ensuring that improvements scale as teams grow. High visibility and alignment with customer needs turn metrics into meaningful actions. Additionally, the Four Keys framework has become an industry standard, adopted widely due to its versatility and depth. Whether you're managing high performance environments or just beginning your DevOps journey, this approach can unlock lasting improvements across your delivery lifecycle.What Are DORA Metrics?
DORA metrics are a set of four key performance indicators used by DevOps teams to evaluate and improve software delivery. These metrics offer insight into how effectively a team deploys code, handles failures, and responds to incidents. The four primary DORA metrics include:
- Deployment Frequency
- Lead Time for Changes
- Change Failure Rate
- Time to Restore Service
Deployment Frequency
This metric tracks how often new code is released to production or other environments. Frequent, smaller deployments are a hallmark of agile DevOps teams, reducing risk and enabling quicker feedback loops. Deployment frequency is typically calculated as the average number of deployments per day. A higher deployment frequency often reflects streamlined processes and automation. To improve this metric, teams can minimize the scope of each release and reduce the volume of changes bundled into a single deployment.Lead Time for Changes
Lead time for changes measures the duration between a code commit and its successful deployment. It represents how quickly a team can move from concept to delivery and is a strong indicator of responsiveness and process agility. For elite teams, this lead time can be as short as a few hours. Slower teams might see this stretch over several days. Optimizing code reviews, reducing complexity, and boosting automation are effective strategies for shortening lead time.Change Failure Rate
This metric indicates the percentage of deployments that introduce errors or issues in the production environment. It complements the speed-oriented metrics by addressing quality and stability. Although deployment speed and frequency are critical, they only drive success if changes are reliable. Tracking the frequency and impact of failures helps teams maintain a healthy balance between velocity and system resilience. Limiting the scope of deployments and enhancing automated testing can reduce this failure rate.Time to Restore Service
When things go wrong, whether due to software bugs, outages, or security breaches, the ability to recover quickly is vital. This metric, often referred to as Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR), captures how long it takes to restore normal operations after a failure occurs. An efficient incident response plan and well-defined recovery protocols enable teams to resolve issues faster, minimizing disruption. Regularly testing these processes and building recovery automation can further reduce downtime.Why DORA Metrics Are Important
Historically, software development and IT operations functioned as separate entities with limited collaboration or visibility into each other's workflows. DevOps emerged as a transformative approach, uniting these once-siloed teams to foster better cooperation and more efficient delivery of software.
One of the key advantages of DevOps is the integration of cross-functional teams, which enhances solution quality and accelerates release cycles. DORA metrics play a crucial role in this ecosystem by offering a standardized way to assess and compare team performance.
Each DORA metric assigns a performance tier, Low, Medium, High, or Elite, based on measurable outcomes. For instance, a team that maintains a change failure rate between 0–15% qualifies for the Elite tier in that category.Â
Similarly, resolving incidents in under an hour earns an Elite rating for time to restore service. The team's cumulative performance across all four metrics determines its overall classification.
These benchmarks are valuable for identifying strengths and pinpointing areas that need attention. By providing clear performance indicators, DORA metrics helps teams.
Implementing DORA Metrics
To effectively apply DORA metrics, it’s essential to evaluate all four indicators collectively. A high deployment frequency, for instance, may seem promising, but if it's accompanied by a high change failure rate, it could signal deeper issues in quality or process stability. In such cases, teams might need to emphasize better code review practices or invest more in automation. On the flip side, a low failure rate is encouraging, but if lead time remains long, it could mean the team needs to reduce the scope of individual changes to speed up delivery. To begin tracking DORA metrics, set up a DevOps pipeline that captures and processes data related to code changes, deployments, and incident management:- Pull data from the moment work begins
- Organize it into structured formats, such as tables for changes, releases, and outages
- Use these structured datasets to compute metrics and assess performance
DORA Metrics and Value Stream Management
Value stream management focuses on consistently delivering high-quality software updates that bring tangible benefits to the customer. Its true measure of success lies in the customer’s ability to recognize and experience the value created by these changes.
DORA metrics serve as foundational benchmarks in value stream management, offering key insights into:
- How often software is deployed
- The speed at which code moves from development to production
- The stability of those deployments How quickly systems recover from failures
Using DORA Metrics to Drive Open DevOps Success
For teams adopting DevOps practices, tracking DORA metrics is vital to assessing and improving delivery processes. Open DevOps equips teams with the tools to monitor these metrics and gauge the health of their development pipeline. Thanks to built-in integrations, Open DevOps supports the creation of a customized, end-to-end development toolchain where DORA metrics can be automatically captured and analyzed. Core tools that enable this include:- Jira Software: The go-to platform for agile planning, task tracking, and workflow management
- Bitbucket: A code repository solution that facilitates source control and change tracking
- Confluence: A collaborative workspace for documenting knowledge, sharing insights, and enabling team communication
- Jira Service Management: A powerful incident and service management tool that also tracks key DORA metrics for operational reliability
Final Thoughts
DORA metrics provide a powerful, data-driven framework for evaluating and enhancing DevOps performance. By measuring deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate, and time to restore service, organizations gain clear visibility into their software delivery capabilities and areas that need improvement.  When paired with value stream management and the right tools, such as Open DevOps and its integrated ecosystem, teams can drive faster, more reliable releases while aligning closely with business goals and customer expectations. However, adopting and optimizing DevOps practices requires more than just the right tools, it also demands skilled professionals who can architect, implement, and refine these systems. That’s where ParallelStaff comes in. Whether you need DevOps engineers, software developers, or IT specialists to support short-term projects or long-term transformation initiatives, ParallelStaff can connect you with top-tier talent to accelerate your progress. Let us help you build a high-performing team that delivers measurable impact with DORA metrics and beyond. Contact ParallelStaff today to find the right professionals for your DevOps journey.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What are DORA metrics and why are they considered key metrics in DevOps?
DORA metrics are a proven set of DevOps benchmarks developed through years of research by the DORA team, including thought leaders like Jez Humble and Gene Kim. These key metrics, Deployment Frequency, Change Lead Time, Change Failure Rate, and Time to Restore Service, offer a data-driven approach to measuring software delivery performance. By providing valuable insights into both speed and stability, they help engineering teams make informed, data-driven decisions and drive continuous improvement.2. What does the Change Lead Time metric measure?
Change Lead Time, sometimes called Mean Lead Time, measures the amount of time it takes for a code change to move from commit to production. This metric measures the agility and efficiency of the development process. High-performing DevOps teams focus on reducing lead time to accelerate feedback loops and respond faster to market changes.3. How do DORA metrics help identify low performers and Elite performers?
The State of DevOps Reports, including the annual State of DevOps Report by Google’s DevOps Research, categorize teams into four tiers: Low performing teams, Medium, High, and Elite performers. These classifications are based on how well a team scores across all DORA metrics. For example, Elite performers have shorter lead times, lower change failure rates, and minimal deployment recovery time, showcasing exceptional software delivery performance.4. How can engineering teams use DORA metrics to improve performance?
Engineering teams can integrate DORA metrics into their CD pipelines using tools like Jira Software and Bitbucket. These metrics offer performance measures that reflect real-world outcomes. By analyzing these data points, teams can streamline workflows, identify root causes of failure, and improve deployment pipeline efficiency through best practices like smaller changes and better Incident Management tools.5. What is the benefit of measuring deployment recovery time?
Deployment recovery time, also known as Failed Deployment Recovery Time or Time to Restore Service, reflects how quickly services can return to normal after a failed deployment. Reducing this metric is critical for customer satisfaction and operational resilience. Fast recovery aligns with the priorities of high-performing teams and ensures smooth software delivery processes even during incidents.6. How does the SPACE framework relate to DORA metrics?
The SPACE framework, which evaluates developer experience across multiple dimensions, complements DORA’s focus on technical outcomes. While DORA emphasizes cycle time and deployment frequency, SPACE adds depth by considering factors like satisfaction and collaboration, providing a more holistic approach to organizational performance.7. How are DORA metrics calculated and tracked in real DevOps environments?
Using Issue-tracking tools and Incident Management tools, teams can collect data points across the entire deployment pipeline. Metrics like total number of deployments, average time to restore service, and cycle time from commit to release are computed to gauge software delivery throughput. Platforms like Open DevOps provide a seamless way to measure and visualize these indicators.
Luis Peralta
CEO
Luis Peralta is the CEO of ParallelStaff, with over a decade of experience leading IT teams and scaling nearshore talent solutions. A former CTO and technology strategist, Luis specializes in building high-impact engineering teams for U.S. companies by connecting them with top-tier Latin American talent. He is passionate about innovation, operational excellence, and the future of remote work.