Skip to main content

Developer Productivity

Productivity in SEI 2.0 focuses on understanding the actual work being delivered by developers, the quality of that work, and how effectively teams collaborate to get it done. Rather than measuring activity for its own sake, we aim to surface signals that reflect meaningful engineering output and work that drives value.

We’ve designed this experience to focus on the quality, velocity, and collaboration behind the code. Whether you're tracking individual contributions or team-wide trends, SEI 2.0 helps you see where work is flowing smoothly and where it might be getting stuck.

We break productivity down into three core dimensions:

  • Volume: How much work is getting done? think commits, pull requests, stories moved forward, and overall code activity.
  • Output: What that work actually delivers—whether it’s shipping to production, creating customer value, or leading to rework down the line.
  • Collaboration: How effectively teams are working together? review quality, responsiveness, cross-functional interaction, and shared ownership.

Productivity Insight widgets​

Our aim is to provide comprehensive, actionable insights into what drives our engineering output. By visualizing key aspects of the development lifecycle, we empower teams to understand their performance, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate successes.

Below is a brief overview of each widget on the Productivity tab for SEI 2.0:

PR Velocity Per Dev​

This widget provides insights into the productivity of individual developers and teams by visualizing the rate at which pull requests (PRs) are completed over time.

  • Metrics Displayed: Average PRs merged per developer per week (e.g., 0.13 per week).
  • Visualization: A bar chart showing completed PRs per developer per week, segmented by "PR Size" (Small, Medium, Large) or "Work Type" (e.g., Features, Bugs).

The following options are available for this widget:

  • Group by: Allows switching the segmentation between "PR Size" and "Work Type."
  • View Breakdown: Provides a detailed breakdown of PR velocity by teams or individual developers, and offers a drill down to specific PRs.

PR Cycle Time​

This widget visualizes the average time it takes for pull requests (PRs) to move through various stages from creation to merge. It helps identify bottlenecks in the PR review and merge process.

  • Metrics Displayed: Average time (e.g., 5d 11h) over the selected period.
  • Visualization: A bar chart showing PRs per week, segmented by time spent in stages: "PR Creation," "First Comment," "Approval," and "Merge."

The following options are available for this widget:

  • Showing Mean: Displays the average cycle time.
  • View Breakdown: Provides a more granular view, typically by team or individual, and includes a table drill down of individual PRs.

Work Completed Per Developer​

This widget tracks the amount of completed work (e.g., features, bugs) per developer over time, offering insights into the output generation.

  • Metrics Displayed: Average completed work units per developer per week (e.g., 0.23 per week).
  • Visualization: A bar chart showing work completed per developer per week, segmented by complexity: "Simple," "Medium," "Complex," and "Other."

The following options are available for this widget:

  • Group by: Allows you to change the segmentation, for example, by "Features."
  • View Breakdown: Provides a more detailed view by team or individual developers, often with a table drill down of specific completed items.

Coding Days Per Developer​

This widget measures the average number of days developers actively contribute code, indicating consistent engagement and direct contribution volume.

  • Metrics Displayed: Average coding days per developer per week (e.g., 0.23 per week).
  • Visualization: A bar chart showing the average coding days per developer for each week.

The following options are available for this widget:

  • View Breakdown: Provides a detailed breakdown of coding days by team.

Number of Comments Per PR​

This widget gauges the level of collaboration and communication within PRs by tracking the average number of comments per pull request. More comments can indicate active discussion and thorough reviews.

  • Metrics Displayed: Average number of comments per PR (e.g., 2.5 comments).
  • Visualization: A bar chart showing the average number of comments per PR for each week.

The following options are available for this widget:

  • View Breakdown: Provides a detailed breakdown of comment activity by team.

Average Time to First Comment​

This widget measures the responsiveness of the team by calculating the average time it takes for a pull request to receive its first comment. Faster first comments can indicate efficient review processes.

  • Metrics Displayed: Average time to first comment (e.g., 3d 8h).
  • Visualization: A bar chart showing the average time to first comment for PRs each week.

The following options are available for this widget:

  • View Breakdown: Provides a detailed breakdown of first comment times by team.