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Larson: Metrics Exist to Educate Executives, Not Be Perfect Datasets

Will Larson · The engineering mindset | Will Larson (Carta, Stripe, Uber, Calm, Digg) · Jan 7, 2024 · at 54:59

Carta CTO Will Larson discusses how engineering leaders should approach measuring developer velocity and reporting to non-technical stakeholders.

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“Metrics are about educating the people consuming the metrics about the reality of the rich data underneath. They're not about this perfect data set that shows everything. Starting with something mediocre, and the Dora metrics are really helpful for diagnosis, but if you have to, they can also be a good enough starting place to start reporting to your board or your CEO or to the other executives.”

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