Achieving engineering excellence isn’t just about clean code or high velocity. It’s about how engineering drives business outcomes.
Every CTO and engineering department manager must know the importance of metrics like cycle time, deployment frequency, or mean time to recovery. These numbers are crucial for gauging team performance and delivery efficiency.
But here’s the challenge: converting these metrics into language that resonates in the boardroom.
In this blog, we’re going to share how you make these numbers more understandable.
Engineering metrics are quantifiable measures that assess various aspects of software development processes. They provide insights into team efficiency, software quality, and delivery speed.
Some believe that engineering productivity can be effectively measured through data. Others argue that metrics oversimplify the complexity of high-performing teams.
While the topic is controversial, the focus of metrics in the boardroom is different.
In the board meeting, these metrics are a means to show that the team is delivering value. The engineering operations are efficient. And the investments being made by the company are justified.
Communicating engineering metrics to the board isn’t always easy. Here are some common hurdles you might face:
Engineering metrics often rely on technical terms like “cycle time” or “MTTR” (mean time to recovery). To someone outside the tech domain, these might mean little.
For example, discussing “code coverage” without tying it to reduced defect rates and faster releases can leave board members disengaged.
The challenge is conveying these technical terms into business language—terms that resonate with growth, revenue, and strategic impact.
Engineering teams track countless metrics, from pull request volumes to production incidents. While this is valuable internally, presenting too much data in board meetings can overwhelm your board members.
A cluttered slide deck filled with metrics risks diluting your message. These granular-level operational details are for managers to take care of the team. The board members, however, care about the bigger picture.
Metrics without context can feel irrelevant. For example, sharing deployment frequency might seem insignificant unless you explain how it accelerates time-to-market.
Aligning metrics with business priorities, like reducing churn or scaling efficiently, ensures the board sees their true value.
Before we go on to solve the above-mentioned challenges, let’s talk about the five key categories of metrics one should be mapping:
These metrics show the engineering resource allocation and the return they generate.
These metrics focus on the team’s output and alignment with business goals.
Metrics in this category emphasize the reliability and performance of engineering outputs.
These metrics focus on engineering efficiency and operational stability.
These metrics highlight team growth, engagement, and retention.
By focusing on these categories, you can show the board how engineering contributes to your company's growth.
Here are three tools that can help CTOs streamline the process and ensure their message resonates in the boardroom:
Typo is an AI-powered platform designed to amplify engineering productivity. It unifies data from your software development lifecycle (SDLC) into a single platform, offering deep visibility and actionable insights.
Key Features:
For customizable data visualization, tools like Tableau or Looker are invaluable. They allow you to create dashboards that present engineering metrics in an easy-to-digest format. With these, you can highlight trends, focus on key metrics, and connect them to business outcomes effectively.
Slide decks remain a classic tool for boardroom presentations. Summarize key takeaways, use simple visuals, and focus on the business impact of metrics. A clear, concise deck ensures your message stays sharp and engaging.
More than data, engineering metrics for the board is about delivering a narrative that connects engineering performance to business goals.
Here are some best practices to follow:
Start by offering a brief overview of key metrics like DORA metrics. Explain how these metrics—deployment frequency, MTTR, etc.—drive business outcomes such as faster product delivery or increased customer satisfaction. Always include trends and real-world examples. For example, show how improving cycle time has accelerated a recent product launch.
Tie metrics directly to budgetary impact. For example, show how allocating additional funds for DevOps could reduce MTTR by 20%, which could lead to faster recoveries and an estimated Y% revenue boost. You must include context and recommendations so the board understands both the problem and the solution.
Data alone isn’t enough. Share actionable takeaways. For example: “To reduce MTTR by 20%, we recommend investing in observability tools and expanding on-call rotations.” Use concise slides with 5-7 metrics max, supported by simple and consistent visualizations.
Position engineering as a business enabler. You should show its role in driving innovation, increasing market share, and maintaining competitive advantage. For example, connect your team’s efforts in improving system uptime to better customer retention.
Understand your board member’s technical understanding and priorities. Begin with business impact, then dive into the technical details. Use clear charts (e.g., trend lines, bar graphs) and executive summaries to convey your message. Tell stories behind the numbers to make them relatable.
Engineering metrics are more than numbers—they’re a bridge between technical performance and business outcomes. Focus on metrics that resonate with the board and align them with strategic goals.
When done right, your metrics can show how engineering is at the core of value and growth.
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