DORA Metrics — DORA metrics are four widely-used measures of software delivery performance — deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure rate, and time to restore service — popularized by the DevOps Research and Assessment program to benchmark how well a team ships.
DORA metrics became the standard scoreboard for delivery performance: how often you deploy, how quickly a change goes from commit to production, how often changes fail, and how fast you recover. They're valuable for spotting trends and comparing over time.
But DORA metrics observe outcomes; they don't govern the work. In AI-native delivery, where agents generate change quickly, teams also need control over the work itself — intent capture, blast radius, gates, and memory — not just a dashboard reporting on it after the fact.
Skaftor is a system of record, not a metrics dashboard: it governs and remembers delivery. DORA-style measures can sit on top, but the leverage is in controlling the pipeline, not only measuring its output.
They're useful for benchmarking outcomes but insufficient on their own. DORA metrics report on delivery; they don't govern the work. When agents generate most of the change, teams also need intent capture, blast-radius analysis, gates, and engineering memory — controls a dashboard doesn't provide.
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Last updated July 28, 2026 · https://skaftor.com/glossary/dora-metrics