Developer Onboarding Metrics That Matter

Developer Onboarding Metrics That Matter

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. This article covers the 7 onboarding metrics that actually matter, benchmarks, how to track them, pitfalls, and an example scorecard—so you can cut ramp time by 40% and boost retention by 25%.

The Seven Metrics

1. Time to first code contribution (target 1–5 days).
2. Time to first merged PR (target 5–15 days).
3. Code quality in first 30 days (% passing without major revisions; target 60–80%+).
4. Productivity ramp (30/60/90): 60–70% → 80–90% → 90–100%.
5. Mentor/team burden (hours per engineer; target 15–30 hours).
6. 90-day retention (target 92–95%+).
7. Cost per engineer onboarded (target $8k–$25k, 5–13% of salary).

FYTIN’s analytics dashboard tracks time-to-first-PR, ramp curves, and mentor burden in one view so you can steer cohorts before they stall.

Benchmarks & Actions

• First commit <3–5 days: pre-approve access, pre-scope a tiny task, pair on day one.
• First merged PR <10–15 days: keep scope small; dedicated reviewer; celebrate the merge.
• Code quality 60–80%: style guide, auto lint/format, review template, early pairing.
• Mentor burden 15–30 hours: automate setup, standardized docs, scheduled pairing.
• Retention >90%: weekly feedback loops, fit checks, clear growth path.
• Cost: reduce via automation, faster ramp, better docs → lower opportunity cost.

How to Track

• Spreadsheet/dashboard: start date, first commit, first PR, merge date, % passing review, weekly productivity estimates with evidence.
• Log mentor time weekly; sum to view burden trend.
• Track cohorts at 30/90/365 days; interview early exits.

Common Pitfalls

• Measuring doc completion instead of real contribution.
• Overly strict first PR reviews that stall momentum.
• No access prep; waiting on permissions kills day one.
• No feedback loop; issues surface at day 60 when it’s late.

Building an Onboarding Dashboard

Track time to first commit, time to first merged PR, code quality, 30/60/90 productivity, mentor burden, retention, and cost. Example: time to first commit 3.2 days (target <3); first merged PR 8.4 days (target <10); code quality 65% (needs improvement); mentor burden 28h (close); retention 89% (investigate).

Example 90-Day Scorecard

FYTIN keeps these KPIs live—time-to-first-PR, ramp %, mentor hours—so leaders see impact and new hires see progress.

Next Steps

• Pick one metric to track this week (time to first commit is easiest).
• Automate environment setup to improve that metric immediately.
• Set targets for the next cohort and review weekly until day 90.