Developer Experience Index: The one number you need to increase ROI per engineer

Engineering leaders and executives agree: software engineering is a critical investment, but measuring its effectiveness has long felt like a black box. Traditional metrics like lead time or MTTR provide limited insight and cannot be translated into financial impact. This gap leaves CTOs, CFOs, and CEOs without a clear way to understand or communicate the ROI of developer productivity initiatives.

Introducing the Developer Experience Index (DXI)

The Developer Experience Index (DXI) is the first validated measure of developer productivity that links directly to business outcomes. Built on over four million benchmark samples and research with 40,000 developers across 800 organizations, DXI identifies the factors most predictive of engineering speed, quality, engagement, and efficiency. Each one-point increase in DXI score saves 13 minutes of developer time per week, equating to 10 hours annually per engineer.

Why DXI outperforms traditional metrics

Unlike narrow activity metrics, DXI provides a holistic view of software engineering productivity. It measures 14 dimensions—including deep work, local iteration speed, ease of release, and code maintainability—that are actionable at both the team and organizational level. By combining these into a single score, DXI delivers a clear and balanced indicator of engineering effectiveness, while still allowing leaders to drill into specific drivers of performance.

Turning DXI insights into action

DXI helps leaders at every level—from engineering executives to frontline managers—pinpoint friction, identify opportunities, and track progress over time. By integrating DXI into a broader measurement strategy, such as the DX Core 4, organizations can align around shared metrics, compare results against industry benchmarks, and confidently prioritize investments. Real-world examples from companies like Dropbox, eBay, and Pfizer show how improving DXI translates into faster delivery, higher engagement, and stronger business performance.

Why every organization needs to measure DXI

In a market demanding efficient growth, the DXI provides the one number leaders need to understand ROI per engineer. By measuring developer experience directly, organizations gain the clarity to improve team productivity, drive better outcomes, and turn software delivery into a sustained competitive advantage.