Every software team wants to measure progress—but what happens when you’re measuring the wrong things?

We’ve seen it before: a project looks “healthy” on paper. Burndown charts are trending down. Velocity is steady. The team logs 40 hours a week. And yet, something’s off. Features feel disjointed. Bugs resurface. Stakeholders are frustrated. The product isn’t quite… working.

That’s often a sign you’re optimising for activity instead of impact.

The Metrics That Don’t Tell the Whole Story

• Story points delivered per sprint might say nothing about feature quality.

• Number of commits doesn’t reflect code maintainability.

• Time spent on tasks ignores the value those tasks generate.

In isolation, these metrics become distractions. They push teams to complete checklists rather than solve real problems.

Measuring What Matters

Teams need context-rich metrics that align with outcomes. That could mean tracking:

• Time-to-feedback, not just time-to-release.

• Bugs found in production, not just test coverage.

• Customer satisfaction, not just deployment frequency.

It’s about asking: What signals are we following? Are they leading us somewhere useful?

The DevRoom Approach

At DevRoom, we work with clients to define success early—and adjust as we go. For one startup, that meant deprioritising backlog velocity in favour of weekly customer interviews. For another, it meant redefining “done” to include a clear analytics loop.

The result? Better conversations, smarter prioritisation, and products that actually resonate with users.

Bad metrics don’t just waste time—they send teams in the wrong direction. Let’s measure what moves the needle.