Our reading notes

Measuring an engineering organization

Guide by Will Larson

A decision-based approach to engineering measurement, separating operating needs from different stakeholders’ questions.

The idea to take with you

A metric is useful when it informs a decision. The board, finance, and a team improving its workflow may need different views.

What to look for

01
Separate planning, operations, improvement, and the story of engineering impact.
02
Match the measure to the audience’s actual responsibility.
03
Start with a small set and improve it instead of waiting for a perfect dashboard.

Some examples are rough proxies. Do not turn measures of a system into rankings of individual engineers.

Put it to work

For every metric in your current report, write the decision it supports, its owner, and what action a change would trigger.

Notes and exercises by Awesome CTO. The original work belongs to Will Larson.

Our planning & delivery guide connects the reading to a practical approach and a template.