In the last few years, the word “efficiency” has been thrown around everywhere. No surprise that a lot of software engineering teams are trying to find better ways to measure productivity. But honestly? That’s been a real challenge. According to Atlassian’s 2024 State of Developer Experience report, most leaders already realize that traditional metrics just aren’t working like they should. And that raises a big question: are we measuring what actually matters?
When Quantity Outweighs Quality
A lot of companies still cling to classic metrics like hours worked, amount of code written, or even story points per sprint. The idea seems logical: if the numbers are going up, the team must be doing well, right? Well… not quite.
The Numbers Trap
Let’s talk about hours worked. Atlassian’s report says 38% of orgs still use this metric. But here’s the catch: 69% of developers say they lose 20% or more of their time dealing with inefficiencies. So it doesn’t matter how many hours they put in — a big chunk of that time isn’t productive. No surprise that 55% of leaders already consider this metric ineffective.
And what about code volume? Measuring productivity by how many lines of code someone writes might sound like a good idea, but 50% of leaders already see the flaw. More code doesn’t mean better code. In fact, it can mean the opposite: more bugs, more rework, and more headaches for everyone.
Impact on Developer Experience
So how does this affect developer experience? Pretty directly, actually. When devs feel like they’re being judged by metrics that don’t reflect the quality of what they do, it’s hard to stay motivated. It’s like being judged by the weight of printed pages instead of the quality of the ideas. That not only hurts code quality, but also drives up turnover — creating a cycle that helps no one.
The Danger of Isolated Metrics
One of the biggest problems with productivity metrics in engineering teams is that they’re often looked at in isolation — with zero context. And that’s when things get risky.
Context Matters
Take Change Failure Rate, for example. This metric tracks how often code changes lead to production issues. Of course it’s important to monitor failures, but 35% of orgs admit they struggle to connect this directly to productivity. And that makes sense. If you only look at the number, it might seem like a team is messing up too often — but if you ignore context, like system complexity or the type of changes being made, you’re missing the full story.
Another one is deployment frequency. Being fast and shipping new features quickly is great, but 40% of leaders already know that’s not the full picture. A team might be shipping a ton — but if those deliveries lack quality or real value, that metric becomes just a pretty number on paper.
Decisions Based on Misleading Metrics
And here’s where things get dangerous: when those isolated metrics start driving decisions. Imagine leaders pressuring teams to hit or beat numbers that look great but actually hide deeper problems. That creates a culture where quantity gets valued over quality — and where real effectiveness gets ignored. Nobody wants to work in a place where the goal is inflating numbers instead of creating real value.
The Side Effect on Engineering Teams
When productivity metrics focus only on efficiency, something important tends to get lost: creativity and innovation.
Creativity Takes a Back Seat
Picture devs constantly being pushed to hit rigid, metric-based goals. The natural move is to stick to safe, tried-and-true solutions — avoiding anything that might seem risky or time-consuming. And what do you get? A team that’s stuck in compliance mode. That kills innovation and makes the work a whole lot less interesting.
Innovation Needs Breathing Room
The truth is, innovation needs space. It takes time, experimentation, and sometimes the freedom to fail. If software engineering teams are constantly judged by strict metrics, creativity is one of the first things to take a hit. Instead of exploring new possibilities, devs get trapped in a “play it safe” mindset — and that limits the team’s ability to build anything truly game-changing.
Alternative Metrics: Measuring What Actually Matters
When we talk about alternative metrics, it’s important to remember there’s no one-size-fits-all fix for measuring productivity in an engineering team. It’s a complex task that needs a multi-layered approach, taking into account different aspects of the team, the business, and the outcomes.
Code Quality
Code quality is a must-have metric for any engineering team. Measuring code quality involves things like code reviews, test coverage, and tracking bug frequency. Well-written and well-tested code means less rework and more long-term maintainability and scalability. Focusing on code quality helps teams deliver solid, sustainable solutions — and in the end, that brings way more value to the product and to the customer.
Customer Impact
Another super valuable metric is how much the team’s work impacts the customer. You can measure this through user feedback, feature adoption analytics, or even customer satisfaction scores. At the end of the day, software delivery isn’t just about writing code — it’s about solving real problems and delivering real value to users. Tracking customer impact keeps the team aligned with what users actually need, making sure their effort is paying off.
Speed of Problem Solving
Instead of focusing on how much work gets done, it’s useful to track how fast the team solves critical problems. This could be average time to fix major bugs or how quickly production issues get resolved. This metric shows how well the team can react to stuff that affects the product and the end user. A team that’s quick to fix problems helps keep the product stable and customer trust high.
Team Sentiment and e-NPS
One metric that deserves a spotlight is e-NPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) and team sentiment. These reflect how satisfied and engaged your team is — which is crucial for understanding internal team health. A positive team vibe and high e-NPS usually mean the team is engaged, motivated, and naturally more productive. That creates a flywheel: a good work environment drives results, and results strengthen the environment.
Engineering Team Maturity
Understanding the maturity of your team is also key to picking the right metrics. More mature teams can be measured differently from teams just getting started or still developing. Maturity influences how goals are set and how metrics are interpreted — which lets leaders tailor their approach to the team’s stage.
Rethinking Productivity Metrics
Productivity metrics have their place — but it’s time to rethink them considering the real-world challenges and negative impacts they can have on engineering teams. Instead of focusing on surface-level numbers, it’s better to take a more holistic approach that looks at quality, context, collaboration, and developer experience. When companies do that, they create environments where real productivity thrives — not at the team’s expense, but in partnership with it.
