Standard : Developer Satisfaction (DevEx NPS)

Description

Developer Satisfaction, often measured using a DevEx Net Promoter Score (NPS), gauges how happy and supported developers feel in their day-to-day work. It’s a leading indicator of developer experience, team morale, and cultural health.

DevEx NPS helps engineering leaders understand what enables or blocks teams, and how culture, tooling, and workflows impact engagement and productivity.

How to Use

What to Measure

  • Ask developers: “How likely are you to recommend your development experience here to a teammate or peer?” (scale 0–10)
  • Calculate NPS:
    DevEx NPS = % Promoters (9–10) - % Detractors (0–6)

Instrumentation Tips

  • Run short, regular surveys (e.g. quarterly) with both rating and open text responses.
  • Use follow-up questions to identify drivers of satisfaction or friction.
  • Track results by team, function, or domain to spot patterns.

Why It Matters

  • Culture: High satisfaction supports retention, collaboration, and innovation.
  • Productivity: Happy developers build better systems, faster.
  • Trust signal: Surface issues early before they turn into disengagement or attrition.
  • Continuous improvement: Helps prioritise DevEx investments with real feedback.

Best Practices

  • Keep surveys lightweight and consistent over time.
  • Combine NPS with qualitative comments and themed feedback.
  • Share results transparently and follow up with action.
  • Involve developers in co-designing improvements.
  • Track satisfaction alongside delivery and quality metrics.

Common Pitfalls

  • Running surveys without following through on the results.
  • Focusing only on the score and ignoring the commentary.
  • Assuming satisfaction is just about tools—it's also about culture, clarity, and growth.
  • Ignoring signals from smaller teams or outliers.

Signals of Success

  • NPS trends upward over time or stays consistently high.
  • Developer feedback is specific, constructive, and acted upon.
  • Teams feel heard and supported by leadership.
  • Developer experience investments are data-informed and measurable.
  • [[Cycle Time]]
  • [[Code Review Cycle Time]]
  • [[Psychological Safety Index]]
  • [[Team Health Indicators]]
  • [[Time to First Contribution]]