A Primer to Key KPIs in Platform Engineering
Platform engineering revolutionizes how technology meets specific needs, improving how developers work and makes operations smoother. It connects and refines tech parts, essential for companies aiming at efficiency and innovation, pushing them ahead in their industries.
Yet, seeing platform engineering's real effects can be tricky. It's like piecing together a complex puzzle where immediate results aren't always visible, complicating the assessment of its impact on developer happiness and operational efficiency. Some benefits might take time to show, requiring patience and attention.
To tackle these evaluation challenges, we use two key concepts: leading and lagging indicators. Leading indicators predict future trends, acting as early alerts, while lagging indicators confirm these trends after the event, helping us understand the long-term benefits.
Leading Indicators: These serve as our early warning system. Similar to the dashboard indicators in a vehicle, they quickly alert us to potential issues, allowing us to make adjustments before minor issues escalate into major problems. They provide a snapshot of current operations, enabling us to act swiftly and effectively.
Lagging Indicators: These come into play after we've made changes, offering a delayed reflection of those actions. They help us understand the full impact of our initiatives, confirming whether the adjustments we've made are delivering the desired long-term benefits.
Now, let's delve deeper into the specific indicators we track to gauge the success of our platform engineering initiatives:
1. Reduction in Operational Tasks
Description: This indicator measures the decrease in manual, repetitive tasks that often bog down the operations team.
Significance: By reducing these tasks, we free up our team to concentrate on more valuable activities, such as enhancing system performance and service quality. This shift not only boosts creativity within our IT infrastructure but also enables our organization to swiftly adapt to new challenges.
Leading Indicators:
Decrease in Operational Tickets: We track the reduction of manual operations tickets created by development teams, indicating smoother workflows post platform engineering implementation.
Shorter Environment Provisioning Times: We measure how much quicker new testing or business environments can be launched, thanks to automation and self-service capabilities.
Fewer Operational Incidents: We evaluate the decline in infrastructure failures and the speed of recovery, reflecting an overall improvement in system reliability.
2. Enhanced Developer Experience and Productivity
Description: This focuses on improving the satisfaction and efficiency of our developers.
Significance: Enhancing the developer experience leads to faster onboarding of new team members, improved collaboration across teams, and ultimately, quicker and more reliable software deliveries. These improvements play a critical role in driving our organization forward.
Leading Indicators:
Accelerated Onboarding: We assess how platform engineering reduces the time required for new developers to become fully productive, thanks to standardized processes across teams.
Increased Deployment Frequency: We monitor the rate of software releases, which signals a boost in confidence and autonomy among developers regarding their work.
Optimized Time on Integrated Development Platforms (IDP): We gauge the quality and quantity of time developers spend on the IDP, looking for improvements in usability and efficiency.
3. Improved Cloud Infrastructure
Description: This indicator focuses on the stability, security, and efficiency of our cloud services.
Significance: A strong cloud infrastructure is essential for any organization that relies on cloud technology. Improved compliance with best practices in cloud services reduces vulnerabilities and operational risks, which is crucial for maintaining high service availability and data security. This, in turn, strengthens trust among stakeholders and customers.
Leading Indicators:
Cost Efficiency: We track reductions in costs, especially in non-production environments, as an early indicator of broader financial benefits.
Streamlined Upgrades: We monitor the time spent on system upgrades, aiming for quicker transitions to newer, more secure versions.
Reduced Compliance Issues: We keep an eye on the frequency of non-compliances detected in security scans, such as audits or penetration tests, as a measure of our improved cloud security posture.
Through meticulous tracking of these leading and lagging indicators, we are able to effectively evaluate the impact of our platform engineering efforts. This ensures that our operations are not just efficient but are also conducive to creating a positive experience for our developers and a robust cloud infrastructure.
Indicator Category | Description | Significance | Leading Indicators | Examples |
Ops Task Reduction | This measures the decrease in repetitive and manual operational tasks. | Reducing these tasks allows the operations team to focus on more strategic initiatives, improving system enhancements and service quality. | - Reduction in Ops Tickets - Reduction in Environment Provisioning Time - Reduction in Operational Incidents | - 20% decrease in manual ticket submissions - 30% faster setup of testing environments - 25% fewer system outages |
Improvement in Developer Experience and Local Productivity | Enhancements in developer satisfaction and efficiency. | A superior developer experience ensures faster onboarding, better team collaboration, and more efficient software delivery. | - Time to Onboard New Team Members - Increase in Release Velocity - Time Spent on the Integrated Development Platform | - From 4 weeks to 2 weeks onboarding time - Monthly to weekly deployments - Increased IDP usage by 40% |
Improvement in Cloud Posture | Enhancements in the cloud infrastructure's stability, security, and efficiency. | A robust cloud posture is crucial for ensuring reduced security risks and better operational reliability, fostering trust with customers. | - Cost-based Reduction - Time Spent on Upgrades - Number of Non Compliances in Scans | - 15% cost saving in cloud expenses - Upgrade times cut by half - 30% reduction in security non-compliances |
Gauging the Future Impact of Platform Engineering
At its heart, platform engineering is all about ongoing improvement. By closely watching our metrics, we make sure we're moving in the right direction. Leading indicators act as a preview, allowing us to adjust early on. Lagging indicators, on the other hand, show us how far we've come in improving operations and making developers happier.
Platform engineering isn't just a method; it's a journey towards lasting success in technology. It emphasizes staying focused, striving for excellence, and adapting to a more agile world.
