Strategic Dashboards & KPIs

The Problem with Most DevSecOps Dashboards

We've seen dozens of engineering organisations attempt to build DevSecOps dashboards. Most fail for predictable reasons:

Too Many Metrics

A dashboard with 47 charts is not a dashboard. It's a data dump. When everything is highlighted, nothing is highlighted. Engineering leaders need 5-7 key metrics, not a wall of charts that nobody reads.

Wrong Metrics

Many teams track what's easy to measure rather than what's important. Lines of code committed is easy. Whether those commits actually improve delivery performance is harder, and more valuable.

No Connection to Action

A chart showing "deployment frequency is 3 per week" is information. A dashboard that shows "these 3 teams are below target, here's what's blocking them, and here's the trend" is actionable.

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What You Get

DORA Metrics Dashboard

Real-time tracking of the four key metrics that Google's research shows correlate with high-performing teams: Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, Change Failure Rate, and Time to Restore Service. Calculated correctly, updated automatically.

Security Posture Dashboard

Vulnerability trends over time. Mean time to remediation by severity. Security debt tracking. Coverage metrics for static analysis, dependency scanning, and container scanning. The view your security team needs to prioritise work and demonstrate progress.

Pipeline Performance Dashboard

Build duration trends. Flaky test identification. Queue times and bottlenecks. The operational view that helps platform teams identify and fix issues before they slow down development.

Executive Summary View

A single-page view designed for leadership. Key metrics, trends, and status indicators without the noise. What's improving, what needs attention, and what actions are being taken.

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How It Works

Phase 1: Requirements Definition (Week 1)

We work with your team to define exactly which metrics matter most, who needs to see them, and what decisions they'll drive. This isn't a checkbox exercise; it's the foundation for a dashboard that actually gets used.

Phase 2: Data Integration (Week 1-2)

We connect to your data sources and validate that the metrics can be calculated accurately. If you've completed a Data Foundation engagement, this step is straightforward. If not, we'll identify any data gaps that need addressing.

Phase 3: Dashboard Build (Week 2-3)

Iterative development with regular check-ins. You'll see working dashboards early and often, with opportunities to refine before we're too far down any path.

Phase 4: Deployment & Handoff (Week 4)

Final dashboard deployment, documentation, and training. Your team walks away knowing how to use and maintain what we've built.

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Dashboard Types We Build

DORA Metrics Dashboards

Deployment Frequency, Lead Time, Change Failure Rate, and Mean Time to Recovery. The four metrics that actually correlate with high-performing teams, tracked over time and broken down by team, project, or whatever dimensions matter to your organisation.

Security Posture Dashboards

Vulnerability counts by severity. Mean time to remediation. Dependency health. Container image security. Compliance coverage. The metrics security leaders need to prioritise work, allocate resources, and report to leadership.

Pipeline Performance Dashboards

Build duration and trends. Failure rates by stage. Flaky test tracking. Queue times and resource utilisation. The operational metrics platform teams need to keep pipelines healthy and identify optimisation opportunities.

Team Health Dashboards

Combining delivery and security metrics at the team level. Helping engineering managers understand how their teams are performing relative to organisational goals and identify areas for improvement.

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Platform Options

We're platform-agnostic. Common options include:

Grafana

Excellent for teams already using Prometheus or similar time-series databases. Open-source, highly customisable, good for operationally-focused dashboards.

Metabase

Great for SQL-based analysis and teams that want simplicity. Open-source option available, good for business-focused metrics that don't need real-time updates.

Tableau / Power BI

When you need polished executive reporting or complex analysis. Higher cost, but more visualisation options and better for organisations that already have these tools.

Custom Solutions

Sometimes the right answer is a purpose-built solution. We can advise on build vs. buy decisions based on your specific requirements.

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This Service Is Ideal For Teams That...

• Have reliable data (or have completed a Data Foundation engagement)
• Need to report DORA metrics to leadership
• Want to give engineering managers visibility into team performance
• Are tracking security compliance and need better reporting
• Spend too much time building manual reports

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