Why Dashboards Fail

Activity Metrics Measure Systems Not People

When metrics become the scorecard, teams adapt to the metric—not the mission. Trust suffers, and leaders get motion, not impact.

  • Outputs ≠ outcomes. Commit/PR counts and cycle time describe flow, not business impact or context. A single metric can’t represent developer value.

  • When a metric becomes the target, teams optimize for the number, not the outcome (Goodhart’s Law), e.g. splitting trivial commits or chasing throughput.

  • Trust erosion. Cranking up monitoring to “close gaps” can reduce trust and well-being and often doesn’t improve performance.

Our Stance - Trust and Transparency

Engineer-First Visibility, Never Surveillance

We’ve led engineering; we’ve watched trust crater when tools measure the wrong things. We know boards ask, “How does engineering drive revenue and retention?” and story points won’t cut it.

Engineer-first; Privacy by design

no DMs, no keystrokes, no code counting, engineers are in control of the visibility of their performance reports.

Engineer-first; Privacy by design

no DMs, no keystrokes, no code counting, engineers are in control of the visibility of their performance reports.

Engineer-first; Privacy by design

no DMs, no keystrokes, no code counting, engineers are in control of the visibility of their performance reports.

Engineer-first; Privacy by design

no DMs, no keystrokes, no code counting, engineers are in control of the visibility of their performance reports.

Coaching > policing

Eliminates surprises, bi-weekly and objective signals you can use in 1:1s and year end reviews.

Coaching > policing

Eliminates surprises, bi-weekly and objective signals you can use in 1:1s and year end reviews.

Coaching > policing

Eliminates surprises, bi-weekly and objective signals you can use in 1:1s and year end reviews.

Coaching > policing

Eliminates surprises, bi-weekly and objective signals you can use in 1:1s and year end reviews.

What we don’t collect

Private conversations, channels, source code.

What we don’t collect

Private conversations, channels, source code.

What we don’t collect

Private conversations, channels, source code.

What we don’t collect

Private conversations, channels, source code.

How Aude.ai Works

Implement Aude in
3 steps

We start with what your engineers value, protect privacy, and deliver holistic engineering performance insights that tie engineering to revenue targets, ARR growth, and churn

  1. Define what “good” looks like

Performance Categories Workshop. Together we name the few things your organiization values most (e.g., Proactive Collaboration, Innovation, Engineering Excellence).

This becomes the north star and guiding culture of your organization.

  1. Connect & calibrate

We connect your communication/code/project tools, backfill 3–6 months, and tune until the views reflect your Categories. Nothing rolls out until you say “go.”

Outcome: Engineer, manager, and leader views aligned; baselines captured (e.g., review‑prep time, fairness/trust).

  1. Kick off

Run a focused pilot with white-glove support. Measure against baselines and deliver holistic performance insights that tie engineering work to revenue targets, ARR growth, and churn.

Typical wins: 70–90% less review prep, prevention anecdotes surfaced, clear ROI story.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Works where you work

Aude.ai integrates seamlessly with the tools your team already uses every day.

  • Slack

    Github

    Trello

    Jira

    Confluence

    Meet

"We cut review prep by ~70% and finally linked work to revenue."

VP of Engineering

Cloud Security

"As we double in size, our biggest fear is the 'immune response' from engineers to any new tool. Finding a solution that is private-by-design is our top priority."

Head of Engineering

FinTech

"My main goal is to use data for better coaching in my 1-on-1s. I need to see if my leadership messaging is landing and help my team self-adjust, without resorting to micromanagement."

Director of Engineering

Creator Economy Platform

"We cut review prep by ~70% and finally linked work to revenue."

VP of Engineering

Cloud Security

"As we double in size, our biggest fear is the 'immune response' from engineers to any new tool. Finding a solution that is private-by-design is our top priority."

Head of Engineering

FinTech

"My main goal is to use data for better coaching in my 1-on-1s. I need to see if my leadership messaging is landing and help my team self-adjust, without resorting to micromanagement."

Director of Engineering

Creator Economy Platform

"We cut review prep by ~70% and finally linked work to revenue."

VP of Engineering

Cloud Security

"As we double in size, our biggest fear is the 'immune response' from engineers to any new tool. Finding a solution that is private-by-design is our top priority."

Head of Engineering

FinTech

"My main goal is to use data for better coaching in my 1-on-1s. I need to see if my leadership messaging is landing and help my team self-adjust, without resorting to micromanagement."

Director of Engineering

Creator Economy Platform

"We cut review prep by ~70% and finally linked work to revenue."

VP of Engineering

Cloud Security

"As we double in size, our biggest fear is the 'immune response' from engineers to any new tool. Finding a solution that is private-by-design is our top priority."

Head of Engineering

FinTech

"My main goal is to use data for better coaching in my 1-on-1s. I need to see if my leadership messaging is landing and help my team self-adjust, without resorting to micromanagement."

Director of Engineering

Creator Economy Platform

Stakes & Success

Two Futures for Your Team

Side-by-side: coach impact with Aude.ai or track activity with dashboards.

Insights over metrics

/ Trust based teams

Traditional

Tracks metrics & activities

Tracks metrics & activities

Performance reviews

No‑surprise, fair reviews — 70–90% less prep

Weekly objective evaluations per engineer; 4 hours reclaimed per engineering staff each cycle.

Days of prep; surprise reviews

Recency bias and gut feel; time sink scales to hundreds of hours at larger teams.

Performance reviews

No‑surprise, fair reviews — 70–90% less prep

Weekly objective evaluations per engineer; 4 hours reclaimed per engineering staff each cycle.

Days of prep; surprise reviews

Recency bias and gut feel; time sink scales to hundreds of hours at larger teams.

Trust & culture

Coaching‑first, objective, no surveillance

Continuous insights eliminate surprises; engineers see a consistent, evidence‑based process.

“Trust tax” from policing metrics

Fear, gaming and slower delivery when teams feel watched.

Trust & culture

Coaching‑first, objective, no surveillance

Continuous insights eliminate surprises; engineers see a consistent, evidence‑based process.

“Trust tax” from policing metrics

Fear, gaming and slower delivery when teams feel watched.

Translate engineering to

business outcomes

Direct line from risks → resources → revenue

Insights behind the metrics that pain a clear, causal narrative from Engineer activities to customer retention and revenue.

Stuck defending DORA

Dashboards show activity, not impact; the translation gap remains.

Translate engineering to

business outcomes

Direct line from risks → resources → revenue

Insights behind the metrics that pain a clear, causal narrative from Engineer activities to customer retention and revenue.

Stuck defending DORA

Dashboards show activity, not impact; the translation gap remains.

Manager time

Managers coach via objective data

50–75% prep time reduction reported; time goes back to coaching and delivery.

Reports over coaching

2–3 hrs per person per cycle compiling data; scales to hundreds of hours.

Manager time

Managers coach via objective data

50–75% prep time reduction reported; time goes back to coaching and delivery.

Reports over coaching

2–3 hrs per person per cycle compiling data; scales to hundreds of hours.

Delivery & Engineering Excellence

Clear map from business objectives to engineering

Weekly review flags high-severity risks; focus view reveals ‘firefighter’ load when it spikes.

Engineering remains a black box

Near‑misses ripple quietly; unplanned engineering work steals roadmap time.

Delivery & Engineering Excellence

Clear map from business objectives to engineering

Weekly review flags high-severity risks; focus view reveals ‘firefighter’ load when it spikes.

Engineering remains a black box

Near‑misses ripple quietly; unplanned engineering work steals roadmap time.

Retention risk

Trust and transparency increase retention

Trust and transparency increase retention

Quantify force‑multipliers: collaboration/mentorship becomes visible and rewarded.

Unfairness drives attrition

Burnout signals missed; your best engineers leave.

Insights over metrics

/ Trust based teams

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Book Your Engineering Plan Session

A short working session. Map today’s pain to a 1‑page plan you can act on.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

Prefer to explore first?

— Instant score + 3 tailored fixes.

FAQ

Quick Anwsers

The three questions leaders ask before they start

Is this a surveillance tool? Will my engineers feel like they are being watched?

How fast will we see value?

How much work is this for my team?

Is this a surveillance tool? Will my engineers feel like they are being watched?

How fast will we see value?

How much work is this for my team?

Is this a surveillance tool? Will my engineers feel like they are being watched?

How fast will we see value?

How much work is this for my team?

Is this a surveillance tool? Will my engineers feel like they are being watched?

How fast will we see value?

How much work is this for my team?