Development Experience (DevEx) Metrics in LinearB

The Development Experience (DevEx) Metrics in LinearB provide visibility into a developer’s workflow after a pull request (PR) is issued. These metrics help teams identify process bottlenecks, reduce idle time, and improve overall developer productivity.

Viewing the Development Experience Metrics

1. In the LinearB side menu, click People > Coaching.
2. Select a team and timeframe from the top of the page.
3. Select the team member whose metric you wish to view.

• Timeframe Selection: DevEx metrics reflect the selected timescale at the top of the page and compare it to the previous period (denoted in grey).
• Metrics Calculation Method: Values are based on KPIs from the Metrics Dashboard and follow the calculation method set in Company Settings.

Key DevEx Metrics

• Pickup Wait Time—Measures the time from when a PR is issued to the first comment by a reviewer.
• Merge Wait Time—Tracks the time from PR approval to when it is merged into the main branch.
• Deploy Wait Time—Measures the time from PR merge to deployment in production.

High or increasing values in any of these areas indicate bottlenecks and potential areas for improvement in developer workflows.

Identifying and Resolving DevEx Bottlenecks

1. High Pickup Wait Time

What It Means:

• Developers experience long idle times before a PR is reviewed.
• Increased context switching disrupts focus and reduces efficiency.
• Delivery timelines and code quality may suffer due to delays in feedback.

How to Improve:

• Keep PRs small to make them easier to review.
• Set team goals for both pickup time and PR size.
• Assign an additional reviewer to ensure steady progress.
• Use SEI + Automation to:
  • Add estimated review time labels automatically.
  • Auto-review and approve safe changes to accelerate feedback loops.

2. High Merge Wait Time

What It Means:

• Prolonged idle time and frequent context switching result in delayed merges.
• Developers lose focus as PRs sit unmerged for extended periods.

How to Improve:

• Monitor PR progress with real-time alerts in collaboration tools (Slack, MS Teams).
• Use workflow automation to ensure that approved PRs are merged promptly.
• Keep PRs top of mind by integrating them into daily standups and team discussions

3. High Deploy Wait Time

What It Means:

• Something is preventing code from reaching production efficiently.
• Common blockers include lack of visibility, inefficient CI/CD pipelines, or misaligned deployment processes.

How to Improve:

• Use real-time alerts to keep deployment tasks on track.
• Review and adjust deployment policies, including:
  • Acceptance testing design – Ensure testing doesn’t delay deployment.
  • CI/CD configurations – Optimize automation for faster delivery.
• If delays persist at an organizational level, conduct a review of DevOps policies to streamline deployments.

Why Use DevEx Metrics?

• Reduce idle time and optimize developer workflows.
• Minimize context switching to improve focus and efficiency.
• Accelerate PR reviews, merges, and deployments for faster code delivery.

By leveraging Development Experience Metrics in LinearB, teams can identify workflow inefficiencies, improve engineering productivity, and drive continuous process improvements.

Related Resources

🔗 PR Label Filters in Metrics Reports

🔗 Cycle Time Metric

🔗 DORA Metrics Dashboard