Overview

Groundworks is a nationwide leader in foundation repair and waterproofing, serving 60+ locations with 40+ dev team members in the US with their technology and deep expertise. As the company expanded, pressure to deliver features quickly began to take a toll on developer satisfaction and code quality. Recognizing the need for a holistic solution to measure productivity and improve developer experience, Partha Sarkar, Director of Engineering spearheaded the transition from LinearB to Typo.

• Rapid Growth: Groundworks’ expansion led to increased workload and delivery pressure on development teams.
• Quality Concerns: The focus on rapid feature deployment began affecting code quality and team morale.
• Need for Change: Partha required a tool better aligned with company values and capable of addressing both productivity metrics and developer sentiment.

The Challenge

When Partha Sarkar joined Groundworks, he identified several pain points with the company’s existing productivity measurement system, LinearB. While LinearB provided useful data, its top-down metrics failed to resonate with developers and did not adequately address their challenges

Challenges Faced

• Top-Down Metrics: LinearB’s approach emphasized leadership priorities over real development bottlenecks and challenges.
• Developer Frustration: Teams felt disconnected, lacking sufficient support or actionable feedback.
• Limited Insight: The existing system did not capture developer sentiment, leaving critical morale issues unaddressed.

Discovering a Solution

After evaluating several tools, Groundworks transitioned to Typo, a platform that uniquely combined system-based metrics with self-reported developer insights.

• Cultural Alignment: Typo prioritized developer sentiment, aligning with Groundworks’ values of collaboration and empathy.
• Comprehensive Insights: The platform’s blend of quantitative data and qualitative feedback provided a fuller picture of team dynamics.
• Developer Empowerment: Typo encouraged developers to actively share challenges and suggest improvements, fostering a sense of ownership.

Implementation Process

The transition to Typo was designed to minimize disruption while maximizing engagement from all stakeholders.

• Seamless Integration: Typo integrated effortlessly with Groundworks’ existing toolset, enabling a smooth rollout.
• Active Team Involvement: Developers played a key role in the implementation process, ensuring high adoption and enthusiasm.
• Survey Cadence: Monthly DevEx surveys were deployed, achieving a remarkable 90% response rate from developers.

• Focused Metrics: Teams configured dashboards to track impactful metrics, including issue velocity and cycle time, within the first week.
• Comprehensive Training: Tailored training sessions equipped team members to fully leverage Typo’s capabilities.

Impact on Operations

The introduction of Typo transformed Groundworks’ development culture, leading to measurable improvements in both team productivity and morale.

• Increased Issue Velocity: Teams saw a 50% increase in issue velocity, enabling faster delivery of features.
• Reduced Cycle Time: The issue cycle time was halved, dropping from 4 days to just 2 days.

• Amplified Developer Voice: Developers gained a platform to express concerns.
• Enhanced Work Quality: Teams cut their critical code quality issue by 40% automated code analysis.
• Increased Collaboration: Typo fostered transparency and strengthened communication across teams.

Conclusion

Today, Groundworks leverages Typo to drive operational efficiency and elevate developer satisfaction across the organization.

• Data-Informed Decisions: Combining quantitative metrics with qualitative feedback ensures well-rounded decision-making.
• Commitment to Growth: Groundworks remains dedicated to continuously refining its development processes.