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What is Deploy Frequency

Deploy Frequency measures how many times your team successfully deploys code to production within a given time period. This metric is a key indicator of your team’s ability to deliver value quickly and maintain a smooth delivery pipeline.

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How We Calculate It

We automatically track every time your team merges code into the main branch (or default branch). Since merges to main typically trigger deployments, this gives us a good measure of how frequently your team delivers code to production. What We Track:
  • Every merge to your main/default branch
  • The time period you select (daily, weekly, monthly)
  • Successful code integrations
How It’s Calculated: 
Deploy Frequency = (Number of Merges to Main) ÷ (Time Period in Weeks)
For example, if you merge 12 times to main in a 4-week period, your deploy frequency is 3 merges per week. Note: We measure merges to main because they typically represent when code is ready for production deployment. If your team has a different workflow (like deploying from feature branches), this metric may need interpretation.

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Why It Matters

Frequent deployments ensure new features and bug fixes reach users quickly, boosting customer satisfaction and competitiveness. They also reduce risks and facilitate issue resolution.

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How to Improve

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Short-term Actions

  • Automate Deployments: Implement CI/CD pipelines
  • Reduce PR Size: Break large changes into smaller, focused PRs
  • Streamline Reviews: Set clear review guidelines and expectations

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Long-term Strategies

  • Infrastructure as Code: Make deployments repeatable and reliable
  • Feature Flags: Deploy code without immediately exposing features
  • Monitoring: Implement comprehensive observability to catch issues early

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Common Challenges

  • Fear of Breaking Changes: Implement proper testing and rollback strategies
  • Manual Processes: Automate repetitive deployment tasks
  • Large Batch Sizes: Encourage smaller, more frequent changes
  • Review Bottlenecks: Streamline the code review process