Research on Developer Productivity teams at leading tech companies

Developer productivity has become a top priority for engineering leaders at companies like Stripe, Google, and Uber. This report analyzes when and why these organizations formed dedicated Developer Productivity (DevProd) teams—sometimes with 50 engineers, sometimes with thousands—and the types of work they typically manage. The research shows how DevProd investments unlock efficiency and drive measurable gains in engineering productivity.

The cost of inefficiency—and the ROI of productivity initiatives

On average, developers lose 22% of their time to inefficiencies, equal to $1.55 billion in lost productivity based on a fully loaded cost of $250,000 per engineer. To address this, companies with under 1,000 engineers dedicate nearly 19% of their workforce to productivity initiatives. This report explains how leading teams structure these investments to maximize ROI and why improving developer productivity pays for itself.

First projects that deliver quick wins

Roughly one-third of DevProd teams begin with CI/CD improvements, removing bottlenecks and securing executive buy-in. Others target developer environments, onboarding, or productivity metrics. Leaders at Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Spotify measure impact with both system metrics and developer experience surveys, ensuring improvements translate into real-world results.

A blueprint for scaling engineering productivity

This research highlights the early warning signs that it’s time to invest in a DevProd team, how team structures evolve as organizations grow, and the proven frameworks top companies use to scale. For engineering executives and platform leaders seeking guidance on how to improve developer productivity, this report provides actionable insights and benchmarks to turn productivity initiatives into a long-term competitive advantage.