Block achieves 90%+ survey response rates with DX

Block — the fintech innovator behind Square, Cash App, and Spiral — has scaled rapidly to over 4,000 engineers managing thousands of software systems and services. As the company has grown, so has the complexity of its engineering environment. To maintain its speed and focus, leadership has prioritized engineering velocity as a key initiative.

For Block, developer survey data is critical to understanding and improving engineering velocity. “Engineering is knowledge work. You can’t measure that solely through quantitative data. We need real feedback—where does it actually hurt?” says Azra Coburn, Head of Developer Experience at Block.

“Engineering is knowledge work. You can’t measure that solely through quantitative data. We need real feedback—where does it actually hurt?”

Azra Coburn, Head of Developer Experience, Block

Despite their goals, Block’s internal surveys struggled to produce actionable insights. Each business unit ran its own survey, leading to inconsistent results and low response rates. “At best, we’d get 20% response rates, and the signal wasn’t reliable,” Coburn explains. “We’re engineers, not survey experts, so we were never going to produce something that delivered the insights we needed.”

“At best, we’d get 20% response rates, and the signal wasn’t reliable. We’re engineers, not survey experts, so we were never going to produce something that delivered the insights we needed.”

Azra Coburn, Head of Developer Experience, Block

Block considered building a better solution, but recognized that designing and sustaining a survey program would require significant resources and distract from core priorities. Instead, Block turned to DX.

DX replaced fragmented surveys with detailed data that can be benchmarked against industry peers. “The difference was immediate,” Coburn explains. “We went from incomplete, inconsistent data to survey response rates over 90%. That kind of participation gives us a clear, trustworthy signal we can act on.”

“We went from incomplete, inconsistent data to a clear, trustworthy signal we can act on. DX allows us to focus our energy on what really matters instead of building tools that aren’t core to what we do.”

Azra Coburn, Head of Developer Experience, Block

Beyond better data and higher response rates, DX eliminated the need for Block to build its own tools, freeing engineers to tackle challenges unique to their scale. “DX allows us to focus our energy on what really matters instead of building tools that aren’t core to what we do,” says Coburn.

Going forward, DX will underpin Block’s engineering velocity initiatives, providing the data, benchmarking, and clarity to align teams and achieve their ambitious goals.

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