Is It Worth Measuring Software Developer Productivity? CIOs Weigh In
CIO, Wednesday, December 20,2023
The benefits of measuring developer productivity are grounds for heated debate, depending on whom you ask. And since defining and tracking it can be tenuous, putting a greater focus on streamlining developer workflow might be a better option.
Most enterprises are committed to a digital strategy and looking for ways to improve the productivity of their workforce. At the same time, developers are scarce, and the demand for new software is high. This has spurred interest around understanding and measuring developer productivity, says Keith Mann, senior director, analyst, at Gartner. 'Organizations need to get the most out of the limited number of developers they've got,' he says. 'Gartner's surveys and data from client inquiries confirm that developer productivity remains a top priority for software engineering leaders.'
Dominic Titcombe, CIO at Delta Dental of California, adds that recent advances around generative AI have inspired new ways of working, and there's been much discussion on applying AI to accelerate software creation. 'There are clearly tremendous tools in this space like GitHub Co-Pilot that developers can use to enhance and augment their productivity,' he says.