How DevProd teams got funded: 20 real-world examples

As developer productivity takes center stage, leaders face a pivotal decision: when to establish a dedicated developer productivity (DevProd) team. This report distills lessons from 20 companies—including DoorDash, Yelp, and Disney—on the pain points that triggered their first DevProd initiatives, the projects that proved value, and the strategies that won executive sponsorship.

First projects that unlocked investment

Successful DevProd teams began by tackling high-impact, highly visible problems. Over 30% started with CI/CD improvements to unblock delivery bottlenecks. Others targeted onboarding, documentation, and developer environments. These first projects demonstrated measurable gains in engineering productivity while addressing friction developers felt every day.

How leaders secured buy-in from executives

The most effective teams tied their work directly to business outcomes. Lattice launched Project Aspirin to relieve acute technical debt, converting borrowed engineers into permanent DevProd staff. ThoughtSpot containerized its application, improving developer workflows and enabling new strategic opportunities. Each case shows how to frame DevProd initiatives as investments with tangible ROI.

A blueprint for starting your own DevProd journey

While every organization’s path is unique, the patterns are clear: start with a project that reduces developer pain, prove value quickly, and expand scope as executive trust grows. Whether at 40 engineers like Mercury or 15,000 like Disney, this report provides actionable guidance on how to improve developer productivity and when to invest in a dedicated DevProd team.