DORA Research: Evidence-Based and Scientifically Grounded Software Engineering

Years ago, the book Accelerate changed my view on software development and delivery fundamentally.

Of course, there are its findings (dare I say 'revolutionary'?) on which technical and organisational factors drive high performance software delivery. But that is not what I want to highlight here.

What makes this book so valuable is that it is grounded in scientific research.

The first years of DORA research formed the basis for the book and documented their scientific approach. And every year they keep on publishing their research results. A few weeks ago their latest report came out. This is the best part, as is with science, when the landscape changes, other evidence surfaces and these reports keep on giving valuable insights.

This approach is completely different from other frameworks in the industry that are adopted because of popularity (I have done that) or commercial interests.

Inevitably this year's report is influenced heavily by the impact of AI, so much so that this year they named their report: "The State of AI-assisted Software Development".

Links to the most recent science-based research:

• DORA Report 2025 Infographic, if you want to get the high-level overview: https://dora.dev/research/2025/2025-DORA-Report-Infographic.pdf

• The full report, +100 pages but if you are into this topic it's an evening's read: https://dora.dev/research/2025/dora-report/