What is Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI) and Why Should You Care as a CTO?
Finally, we have powerful tools to support management work in software engineering teams.

Finally, we have powerful tools to support management work in software engineering teams.
If you're a CTO or Engineering Manager, you've probably found yourself in meetings with the CEO or board without concrete metrics to share about your engineering team's performance. While business leaders have dashboards full of data from their CRMs, engineering teams still struggle with scattered metrics and limited visibility. This is where Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI) comes in.
Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI) refers to the use of data and advanced analytics to understand how engineering teams work, optimize processes, and improve decision-making. According to Gartner, SEI platforms help measure and enhance engineering team productivity by integrating information from tools like version control systems, CI/CD platforms, and task trackers【20】.
As a CTO, you need clear metrics to demonstrate engineering's impact. However, most data is spread across various tools, making it difficult to get a realistic view. SEI solves this problem by providing:
SEI and Software Productivity FrameworksSEI platforms often rely on well-established frameworks to measure engineering productivity, such as:
The DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) framework defines four key metrics to assess software delivery performance【21】:
For a deeper dive into implementing DORA metrics in your organization, check out our post: From theory to practice: implementing DORA metrics in your organization.
Developed by Nicole Forsgren and other researchers, the SPACE Framework provides a broader view of productivity across five dimensions:
Software Engineering Intelligence isn’t just a trend—it’s a necessity for any CTO looking to lead a data-driven engineering team. As these platforms evolve, they become essential for making informed decisions and speaking the same language as the rest of the business.