How To Calculate Merge Request Rate in SolarWinds Service Desk | Arithmix

If you're working in a software development team, you know that managing code changes is a crucial part of the process. One way to keep track of these changes is through merge requests. But how do you calculate the merge request rate? 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 frequency of merge requests in a given period. A merge request is a request to merge code changes from one branch to another. The merge request rate is calculated by dividing the number of merge requests by the total time period. For example, if you had 10 merge requests in a week, your merge request rate would be 10/7 = 1.43 merge requests per day.

Merge request rate can be a useful metric to track because it gives you an idea of how frequently code changes are being made and merged. A high merge request rate could indicate that your team is working efficiently and making progress quickly. On the other hand, a low merge request rate could suggest that there are bottlenecks in the development process or that the team is not making as much progress as they could be.

When Is It Valuable To Calculate Merge Request Rate?

There are several situations where it can be valuable to calculate merge request rate. For example, if you're trying to improve your team's efficiency, tracking merge request rate can help you identify areas where you can make improvements. You can also use merge request rate to compare your team's performance to industry benchmarks or to other teams within your organization.

Additionally, merge request rate can be a useful metric to track when you're trying to identify areas where your team may be struggling. For example, if you notice that your merge request rate has decreased significantly, it could be a sign that there are issues with code quality or that there are communication breakdowns within the team.

How to Calculate Merge Request Rate

Calculating merge request rate is a relatively simple process. First, you need to determine the time period you want to measure. This could be a week, a month, or any other time period that makes sense for your team. Next, count the number of merge requests that were made during that time period. Finally, divide the number of merge requests by the total time period to get your merge request rate.

For example, let's say you want to calculate your team's merge request rate for the month of June. During that time period, your team made 25 merge requests. June has 30 days, so your merge request rate would be 25/30 = 0.83 merge requests per day.

It's important to note that merge request rate is just one metric that you can use to track your team's performance. It's important to look at other metrics as well, such as code quality, customer satisfaction, and team morale, to get a complete picture of how your team is doing.

In conclusion, merge request rate is a valuable metric to track if you're working in a software development team. By measuring how frequently code changes are being made and merged, you can identify areas where your team is excelling and areas where there is room for improvement. Calculating merge request rate is a simple process that can provide valuable insights into your team's performance.

How Do You Calculate Merge Request Rate in SolarWinds Service Desk

SolarWinds Service Desk 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 SolarWinds Service Desk 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 SolarWinds Service Desk, 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 SolarWinds Service Desk 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 SolarWinds Service Desk 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.