How To Calculate Merge Request Rate in BQE CORE | Arithmix

If you're working in software development, you may have heard of the term "merge request rate." This metric can be incredibly valuable in measuring the efficiency and productivity of your team. In this article, we'll explore what merge request rate is, when it's valuable to calculate, and how to calculate it.

What Is Merge Request Rate?

Merge request rate is a metric that measures the number of merge requests that are opened and closed within a certain period of time. A merge request is a request to merge changes made in one branch of code into another branch. Essentially, it's a way for developers to collaborate and ensure that code changes are properly reviewed and approved before being merged into the main codebase.

By measuring the merge request rate, you can get a sense of how quickly your team is able to review and approve code changes. A high merge request rate can indicate that your team is efficient and able to quickly review and approve changes, while a low merge request rate may indicate that there are bottlenecks in your review process.

When Is It Valuable To Calculate Merge Request Rate?

There are a few scenarios where calculating merge request rate can be particularly valuable:

• When you're trying to improve your team's efficiency: If you're looking to optimize your team's workflow, understanding your merge request rate can help you identify areas where you can improve your review process.
• When you're trying to diagnose issues: If you're experiencing issues with your codebase, such as bugs or performance problems, understanding your merge request rate can help you identify whether there are issues with your review process that may be contributing to these problems.
• When you're trying to set goals: If you're looking to set goals for your team, understanding your current merge request rate can help you set realistic targets for improvement.

How To Calculate Merge Request Rate

Calculating merge request rate is relatively straightforward. Here's how to do it:

1. Determine the time period you want to measure. This could be a week, a month, or any other period of time that makes sense for your team.
2. Count the number of merge requests that were opened during that time period.
3. Count the number of merge requests that were closed during that time period.
4. Divide the number of closed merge requests by the number of open merge requests to get your merge request rate.

For example, if you had 20 merge requests opened during a week and 15 of them were closed, your merge request rate would be 0.75 (15/20).

Keep in mind that merge request rate is just one metric, and it's important to consider it in the context of other metrics and factors that may be impacting your team's efficiency and productivity.

How Do You Calculate Merge Request Rate in BQE CORE

BQE CORE itself isn’t naturally geared towards letting you calculate complex metrics like Merge Request Rate. As an alternative, teams typically use products like Arithmix to import data from BQE CORE and build out dashboards.

What is Arithmix?

Arithmix is the next generation spreadsheet - a collaborative, web-based platform for working with numbers that’s powerful yet easy to use. With Arithmix you can import data from systems like BQE CORE, combine it with data from other systems, and create calculations like Merge Request Rate.

In Arithmix, data is organized into Tables and referenced by name, not by cell location like a spreadsheet, simplifying calculation creation. Data and calculations can be shared with others and re-used like building blocks, vastly streamlining analysis, model building, and reporting in a highly scalable and easy to maintain platform. Data can be edited, categorized (by dimensions) and freely pivoted. Calculations are automatically copied across a dimension - eliminating copy and paste of formulas.

Arithmix is fully collaborative, giving your entire team access to your numbers and the ability to work together seamlessly.

Calculating Merge Request Rate in Arithmix

Calculating metrics like Merge Request Rate is simple in Arithmix. Once you've created your free account, you’ll be able to import your BQE CORE data, and use it to create natural language formulas for metrics like Merge Request Rate.

Arithmix is designed to give you the power to build any calculations you want on top of your BQE CORE data, while also being easy to use and collaborate on. You can share your dashboards with users inside and outside of your organisation, making it easy to empower your whole team.