--- title: DORA Metrics description: >- Learn how to use DORA metrics to measure and improve your organization's software delivery processes. breadcrumbs: Docs > Delivery Performance > DORA Metrics --- # DORA Metrics {% callout %} # Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com, us2.ddog-gov.com {% alert level="danger" %} This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site.md). ({% placeholder "user-datadog-site-name" /%}). {% /alert %} {% /callout %} ## Overview{% #overview %} DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) metrics are [four key metrics](https://www.datadoghq.com/knowledge-center/dora-metrics/) that indicate the velocity and stability of software development. {% dl %} {% dt %} Deployment frequency {% /dt %} {% dd %} How often an organization successfully releases to production. {% /dd %} {% dt %} Change lead time {% /dt %} {% dd %} The amount of time it takes a commit to get into production. {% /dd %} {% dt %} Change failure rate {% /dt %} {% dd %} The ratio of deployments that fail and require immediate intervention. {% /dd %} {% dt %} Failed deployment recovery time {% /dt %} {% dd %} The time it takes to recover from a deployment that fails and requires immediate intervention. {% /dd %} {% /dl %} Defining and tracking DORA metrics can help you identify areas of improvement for your team or organization's speed and quality of software delivery. ## Set up DORA Metrics{% #set-up-dora-metrics %} To start configuring data sources to send deployment events to Datadog, see the [Setup documentation](https://docs.datadoghq.com/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/setup.md). ## Analyze DORA Metrics{% #analyze-dora-metrics %} After you've set up the data sources for your deployment and failure events, navigate to [Software Delivery > Delivery Performance > DORA Metrics](https://app.datadoghq.com/ci/dora) to identify improvements or regressions for each metric. You can also aggregate the metrics by team, service, repository, environment, time period, and [custom tags](https://docs.datadoghq.com/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/data_collected.md#custom-tags) to compare trends over time. {% image source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/dora_ui_3.1c02efe2d644b5baafe7caa0de0678cf.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/dora_ui_3.1c02efe2d644b5baafe7caa0de0678cf.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x" alt="An overview of DORA Metrics calculations filtered by the Language custom tag" /%} Click View Deployments to open a new tab with the list of deployment events. {% image source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/deployments_list.25e630d3cb95255ec049a5db3418cf2a.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/deployments_list.25e630d3cb95255ec049a5db3418cf2a.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x" alt="The Deployments Breakdown displaying a breakdown of metrics and a list of related events" /%} Click View Change Failures to open a side panel with the list of deployment events marked as change failures. {% image source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/change_failures_list.2c4e0bb64ebe91b8a6ee11b94f687ec9.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/change_failures_list.2c4e0bb64ebe91b8a6ee11b94f687ec9.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x" alt="The Failures Breakdown displaying a breakdown of metrics and a list of related events" /%} ## Use DORA Metrics data{% #use-dora-metrics-data %} ### Export DORA Metrics widgets{% #export-dora-metrics-widgets %} Export your visualization widgets to dashboards, notebooks, or add them to existing incidents. {% image source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/dora_ui_2.65615d376171c9c13d717c88c53ecdeb.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/dora_ui_2.65615d376171c9c13d717c88c53ecdeb.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x" alt="Click the Export icon to add the visualization widget to an incident or to a dashboard or notebook" /%} Click the Export icon on any visualization to add it to an incident, dashboard, or notebook. For more information about the metrics calculated by DORA Metrics, see the [Data Collected documentation](https://docs.datadoghq.com/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/data_collected.md). ### Create custom dashboards{% #create-custom-dashboards %} Build custom dashboards using DORA Metrics to analyze your delivery workflow end-to-end, from commits and pull requests to production deployments. For example, compare code review performance across teams to identify which teams are blocked by slow approvals and prioritize where to invest in workflow improvements. {% image source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/dashboard.96f6743901318931117997b1280d5229.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/dashboard.96f6743901318931117997b1280d5229.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x" alt="An example of a custom DORA Metrics Dashboard" /%} Within dashboards and graphs, custom tags are treated as [attributes](https://docs.datadoghq.com/dashboards/guide/quick-graphs.md#graphing-events). To filter or group by a custom tag, it must be prefixed with an `@` symbol. {% image source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/graph_with_custom_tag.405358f27d3a4ed20068046c3c89f682.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/graph_with_custom_tag.405358f27d3a4ed20068046c3c89f682.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x" alt="An example of a custom DORA Metrics graph grouped by a custom tag" /%} ## Further Reading{% #further-reading %} - [Learn how Datadog calculates DORA metrics](https://docs.datadoghq.com/delivery_performance/dora_metrics/calculation.md) - [Learn about Deployment Visibility](https://docs.datadoghq.com/continuous_delivery/deployments.md) - [Learn about Event Management](https://docs.datadoghq.com/events.md) - [Learn about Metric Monitors](https://docs.datadoghq.com/monitors/types/metric.md) - [Learn about the Catalog](https://docs.datadoghq.com/catalog.md) - [Best practices for using DORA metrics to improve software delivery](https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/dora-metrics-software-delivery/) - [3 ways to drive software delivery success with Datadog DORA Metrics](https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/datadog-dora-metrics/) - [Key learnings from the 2026 State of DevSecOps study](https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/devsecops-2026-study-learnings) - [Check out the latest Software Delivery releases! (App login required)](https://app.datadoghq.com/release-notes?category=Software%20Delivery)