How DX accelerates CTO onboarding

Stepping into a new CTO role can be a whirlwind. Expectations are high, the pressure is on, and you’re tasked with defining a strategy that accelerates growth and momentum. So, how can you start making an impact right away?

With DX, you don’t have to spend months gathering context and scheduling countless 1:1s. Instead, you can get the insights you need from day one, allowing you to focus on what really matters. Here’s how DX empowers new leaders to hit the ground running and make a difference immediately.

1. Get the lay of the land quickly

“When I joined GitHub as CTO, I spent the first couple months just talking to people.” – Jason Warner, former CTO of GitHub

One of the biggest challenges for a new CTO is getting the lay of the land, i.e., understanding organizational dynamics, what work is happening, and hotspots. To gain this context, CTOs often spend weeks or even months in meetings and one-on-ones. But with DX, you can skip the lengthy meetings and start with a data-driven view of your organization from day one.

Here’s how DX helps you get up to speed:

• The ground truth straight from your developers: DX’s developer surveys average an impressive 96% participation rate, providing you with reliable insights that reflect the Voice of the Teams. This high engagement means you can trust the data you’re working with and make decisions confidently.
• Team-level metrics and insights: Quickly understand each team’s unique challenges, concerns, and productivity barriers. DX surfaces specific comments and feedback from team members, saving you time and providing actionable insights.
• Industry benchmarking: DX’s granular benchmarking capabilities allow you to compare your organization’s performance with industry standards, identifying both strengths and areas for improvement.

Imagine starting your new role with insights from every team, understanding the dynamics and key challenges in your first week. With DX, you can skip the information-gathering phase and focus on setting the strategy.

2. Reporting on the state of engineering to the CEO and Board

As a new CTO, you’ll likely be asked to present on the current state of engineering and paint a vision for the future. But baselining and talking about productivity isn’t always straightforward—questions like “what are the right metrics?” or “what is engineering spending time on?” are common.

DX’s answer: the Core 4 framework

The DX Core 4 framework (Table 1) measures engineering productivity across speed, quality, effectiveness, and business impact, providing a balanced view that aligns with frameworks like DORA, SPACE, and DevEx. Core 4 sets a clear baseline for tracking progress and simplifies reporting, making it easier to show engineering’s impact and align efforts with business goals.

CTOs are often asked, “Where is engineering time being spent?” Without DX, this can be challenging to answer. Quarterly Snapshots make it easy, capturing the percentage of time spent across different areas and providing clear visual breakdowns of team allocation data.

3. Identify struggling teams or individuals

As a new leader, quickly getting a handle on hotspots is important. There are likely to be specific teams in need of help, whether due to struggling projects or frustrated developers. But without a clear view, knowing where to invest your time can be challenging.

DX gives you at-a-glance views into how different teams and individuals are performing. For example, Heatmaps give you an overview of where different teams are doing well or struggling:

Detailed metric breakdowns provide ready-to-use reports on key metrics like DORA, cycle time, and throughput, organized by team and individual:

With DX’s insights, you can invest in the areas where your support will have the greatest impact, positioning your teams for success and ensuring smooth operations across the organization.

Starting a new CTO role comes with intense pressure to understand, act, and deliver results quickly. DX is here to make that transition easier, equipping you with actionable insights right from day one. With tools like the DXI, Core 4 framework, and detailed Heatmap, you’ll have the data and team-level insights needed to lead confidently, report effectively, and drive meaningful change.

From building a high-level understanding of your teams to presenting data that aligns engineering with business outcomes, DX is your essential ally in making an immediate impact as a new leader.

To learn more about DX and our full suite of products, please request a demo through our website.