What is Deployment Frequency

Deployment Frequency is one of the key metrics developed by the DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) organization to measure the performance of software development and delivery teams.

Deployment Frequency measures the rate at which a team is able to deliver code changes to production. Specifically, it is calculated by dividing the number of deployments by the time elapsed. The unit of time can be an hour, a day, a week, or a month, depending on the frequency of the team's deployments.

Interpreting Deployment Frequency value

Determining whether a particular value of Deployment Frequency is good or bad requires considering the context of the team's work and their goals. However, in general, a higher Deployment Frequency is generally considered to be better, as it often indicates that the team is able to deliver changes to production more frequently, which can result in faster feedback loops, increased agility, and improved customer satisfaction.

That being said, a very high Deployment Frequency may not always be desirable, particularly if it comes at the expense of quality and stability. If the team is deploying changes too frequently without adequate testing or quality assurance measures, it can lead to increased instability and downtime, which can have a negative impact on customer satisfaction and the team's overall performance.

Conversely, a very low Deployment Frequency may also be an indicator of problems, such as slow and inefficient processes, lack of automation, or cultural barriers to change. In such cases, a low Deployment Frequency can lead to slower feedback loops, longer lead times, and increased risk of errors and defects.

Measure Deployment Frequency according to Google’s Accelerate State of DevOps reports

According to Google’s Accelerate State of Devots reports 2022, performance can be evaluated in the following way:

1. Low: Deployment Frequency is between once per month and once every 6 months.

2. Medium: Deployment Frequency is between once per week and once per month.

3. High: Deployment Frequency is on-demand (multiple deploys per day).

Deployment Frequency in Agile Analytics

Measuring Deployment frequency in Agile Analytics allows you to see both successful and unsuccessful deployments. This way teams can estimate the quality of their deployments and identify areas for improvement in their development processes.

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However, it's important to note that Deployment Frequency is just one of several metrics used to evaluate team performance. Other key metrics from the DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) model, such as Lead Time for Changes, Time to Restore, and Change Failure Rate, should also be considered to get a complete picture of team performance.