DORA (software development)
Topic: Software
From HandWiki - Reading time: 2 min
DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) is a research project to understand the practices, processes, and capabilities that enable Software Development teams to achieve high performance[1]. It was acquired by Google[2] in 2018.
Capabilities
DORA identifies 28 named capabilities[3] that drive high performance in software development. They are grouped as technical, process, and cultural.
| Section | Capability |
|---|---|
| Technical | Cloud infrastructure |
| Continuous integration | |
| Deployment automation | |
| Monitoring and observability | |
| Trunk-based development | |
| Code maintainability | |
| Continuous testing | |
| Empowering teams to choose tools | |
| Shifting left on security | |
| Version control | |
| Continuous delivery | |
| Database change management | |
| Loosely coupled architecture | |
| Test data management | |
| Process | Customer feedback |
| Streamlining change approval | |
| Visual management | |
| Monitoring systems to inform business decisions | |
| Team experimentation | |
| Work in process limits | |
| Proactive failure notification | |
| Visibility of work in the value stream | |
| Working in small batches | |
| Cultural | Generative organizational culture |
| Learning culture | |
| How to transform | |
| Transformational leadership | |
| Job satisfaction |
In the outcome of the DORA research each capability includes a description of:
- Why it is needed.
- How to implement it.
- Common failings to avoid.
- How to further improve practices.
- Ways to measure it.
Capabilities are interrelated. For example, enabling Continuous Integration requires a team to improve through a sequence:
- Process capability: "Working in small batches" →
- Technical capability: "Trunk-based development" →
- Technical capability: "Continuous Integration"
Metrics
DORA defines metrics[4] that help software development teams to identify which capabilities they should focus on improving.
The metrics are a data-driven approach to assessing a team's performance in:
- Deployment Frequency. The number of deployments made to production per day, week, or month.
- Change Lead Time. The time it takes to make a change from the initial commit to the production environment.
- Change Failure Rate. The percentage of deployments that fail.
- Time To Restore. The time it takes to recover from a deployment failure.
Teams measured as having high DORA metrics correlate with high performance in software delivery.[5]
References
- ↑ Forsgren, Nicole; Humble, Jez; Kim, Gene (2018). "Accelerate: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations". ISBN 9781942788331.
- ↑ Humble, Jez (2019) DORA's Journey: An Exploration medium.com
- ↑ DORA Capabilities
- ↑ DORA Metrics Quick Check
External links
 |
EncycloReader
is supported by the 
KSF