What are DORA metrics?

DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) metrics are key measurements of software delivery performance, derived from research by the DORA team at Google. They are the most widely validated framework for measuring DevOps performance.

The four metrics

Deployment Frequency: How often code is deployed to production. Elite performers deploy on demand, multiple times per day; low performers deploy between once a month and once every six months.

Lead Time for Changes: Time from code commit to production deployment. Elite performers complete this in less than one day.

Failed Deployment Recovery Time (MTTR): How quickly a service is restored after a failed production change. Elite performers recover in under an hour.

Change Failure Rate: Percentage of production changes requiring immediate remediation. Elite performers report a 5% median rate.

Bands source: Elite/High/Medium/Low figures are from the 2024 DORA Accelerate State of DevOps Report. DORA derives these from a combined yearly cluster analysis, not fixed universal thresholds — the 2024 report itself shows Medium and High tied on recovery time, and Medium scoring better than High on change failure rate.
Key finding from DORA research: Elite performers are 2× as likely to meet or exceed their reliability targets and report significantly better team wellbeing and lower burnout rates. Speed and stability are not a trade-off — they move together.