Engineering teams are under constant pressure to deliver software that aligns with top line business goals: Unlocking Innovation, Reducing Costs, and Improving Customer Experiences. But how do organizations ensure their engineering practices actually move the needle? The answer lies in measuring both inputs (the practices teams adopt) and outputs (the results they achieve).
Here’s why a dual focus, powered by tools like Scorecards and Engineering Intelligence, is essential for driving engineering excellence.
Engineering Excellence: A Balancing Act
Engineering excellence rests on four pillars: Security, Reliability, Velocity, and Efficiency. To excel in these areas, teams need to answer two critical questions:
Inputs: Are we adopting the right practices?
Outputs: Are those practices delivering meaningful outcomes?
For example, a security initiative like standardizing package dependencies (an input) aims to reduce vulnerabilities. But without tracking metrics like incident frequency or mean time to resolve (MTTR) (outputs), teams can’t confirm if their efforts are working.
This is where tools like Scorecards (for inputs) and Engineering Intelligence (for outputs) bridge the gap.
Why Inputs Matter: Building the Right Foundations
Inputs represent the processes, standards, and best practices teams adopt. They’re the “what we do” of engineering excellence.
Scorecards help organizations codify these inputs by:
Defining benchmarks for security (e.g., vulnerability management, audit compliance).
Enforcing reliability standards (e.g., production readiness checklists).
Streamlining velocity (e.g., golden paths for developers).
Driving efficiency (e.g., cloud cost governance policies).
Example: A company uses Scorecards to mandate code-scanning tools (security input). This ensures teams follow best practices, but it doesn’t reveal whether vulnerabilities are actually decreasing.
The Risk of Ignoring Inputs: Without intentional practices, teams risk reactive, inconsistent workflows. Imagine a team chasing faster deployment times (output) without standardized tooling (input)—they might achieve short-term gains but create long-term technical debt.
Why Outputs Matter: Proving Impact
Outputs are the measurable outcomes of engineering work. They answer, “Did our inputs work?”
Engineering Intelligence tracks metrics like:
Velocity: PR cycle time, deployment frequency.
Reliability: MTTR, incident rates.
Efficiency: Cloud costs, infrastructure utilization.
Security: Vulnerability resolution time.
Example: After adopting Scorecards for standardized tooling (input), Engineering Intelligence reveals a 30% reduction in PR cycle time (output), proving the initiative’s success.
The Risk of Ignoring Outputs: Tracking inputs alone can lead to “checkbox engineering”—teams follow practices without validating their impact. For instance, mandating production readiness reviews (input) is futile if incident rates (output) remain unchanged.
The Synergy: How Inputs and Outputs Inform Each Other
The magic happens when inputs and outputs work together:
Outputs Guide Input Priorities: If Engineering Intelligence shows slow deployment frequency (output), teams might prioritize self-serve tooling (input via Scorecards).
Inputs Validate Output Improvements: A spike in reliability metrics (output) can be traced back to improved incident response playbooks (input).
Real-World Scenario: A company notices rising cloud costs (output). They use Scorecards to enforce cost governance policies (input) and Engineering Intelligence to track spending trends. Over time, costs drop by 20%, linking the input to the improved output.
Conclusion: Engineering Excellence Requires Both Lenses
To drive business outcomes, engineering teams need visibility and accountability at every stage. Scorecards ensure teams adopt the right practices, while Engineering Intelligence validates their impact. Together, they create a feedback loop for continuous improvement:
Scorecards answer, “Are we doing what we should?”
Engineering Intelligence answers, “Is it working?”
By measuring both, organizations move beyond guesswork to data-driven decisions—aligning engineering efforts with business goals and fostering a culture of excellence.
Ready to elevate your engineering practices? Learn how Scorecards and Engineering Intelligence can help you master the balance between inputs and outputs.
