Source URL: https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/announcing-the-2025-dora-report/
Source: Cloud Blog
Title: Announcing the 2025 DORA Report: State of AI-Assisted Software Development
Feedly Summary: Today, we are excited to announce the 2025 DORA Report: State of AI-assisted Software Development. Drawing on insights from over 100 hours of qualitative data and survey responses from nearly 5,000 technology professionals from around the world.
The report reveals a key insight: AI doesn’t fix a team; it amplifies what’s already there. Strong teams use AI to become even better and more efficient. Struggling teams will find that AI only highlights and intensifies their existing problems. The greatest return comes not from the AI tools themselves, but from a strategic focus on the quality of internal platforms, the clarity of workflows, and the alignment of teams.
AI, the great amplifier
As we established from the 2024 report as well as the special report published this year called “Impact of Generative AI in Software Development”, organizations are continuing to heavily adopt AI and receive substantial benefits across important outcomes. And there is evidence of learning to better integrate these tools into our workflow. Unlike last year, we observe a positive relationship between AI adoption on both software delivery throughput and product performance. It appears that people, teams, and tools are learning where, when, and how AI is most useful. However, AI adoption does continue to have a negative relationship with software delivery stability.
This confirms our central theory – AI accelerates software development, but that acceleration can expose weaknesses downstream. Without robust control systems, like strong automated testing, mature version control practices, and fast feedback loops, an increase in change volume leads to instability. Teams working in loosely coupled architectures with fast feedback loops see gains, while those constrained by tightly coupled systems and slow processes see little or no benefit.
Key findings from the 2025 report
Beyond this central theme, this year’s research highlighted the following about modern software development:
AI adoption is near-universal: 90% of survey respondents report using AI at work. More than 80% believe it has increased their productivity. However, skepticism remains as 30% report little or no trust in the code generated by AI, a slightly lower percentage than last year but a key trend to note.
User-centricity is a prerequisite for AI success: AI becomes most useful when it’s pointed at a clear problem, and a user-centric focus provides that essential direction. Our data shows this focus amplifies AI’s positive influence on team performance.
Platform engineering is the foundation: Our data shows that 90% of organizations have adopted at least one platform and there is a direct correlation between a high quality internal platform and an organization’s ability to unlock the value of AI, making it an essential foundation for success.
The seven team archetypes
Simple software delivery metrics alone aren’t sufficient. They tell you what is happening but not why it’s happening. To connect performance data to experience, we conducted a cluster analysis that reveals seven common team profiles or archetypes, each with a unique interplay of performance, stability, and well-being. This model provides leaders with a way to diagnose team health and apply the right interventions.
The ‘Foundational challenges’ group are trapped in survival mode and face significant gaps in their processes and environment, leading to low performance, high system stability, and high levels of burnout and friction. While the ‘Harmonious high achievers’ excel across multiple areas, showing positive metrics for team well-being, product outcomes, and software delivery.
Read more details of each archetype in the “Understanding your software delivery performance: A look at seven team profiles" chapter of the report.
Unlocking the value of AI with the ‘DORA AI Capabilities Model’
This year, we went beyond identifying AI’s impact to investigating the conditions in which AI-assisted technology-professionals realize the best outcomes. The value of AI is unlocked not by the tools themselves, but by the surrounding technical practices and cultural environment.
Our research identified seven capabilities that are shown to magnify the positive impact of AI in organizations.
Where leaders should get started
One of the key insights derived from the research this year is that the value of AI will be unlocked by reimagining the system of work it inhabits. Technology leaders should treat AI adoption as an organizational transformation.
Here’s where we suggest you begin:
Clarify and socialize your AI policies
Connect AI to your internal context
Prioritize foundational practices
Fortify your safety nets
Invest in your internal platform
Focus on your end-users
The DORA research program is committed to serving as a compass to teams and organizations as we navigate the important and transformative period with AI. We hope the new team profiles and the DORA AI capabilities model provide a clear roadmap for you to move beyond simply adopting AI to unlocking its value by investing in teams and people. We look forward to learning how you put these insights into practice. To learn more:
Download the full report
Join the DORA community
Share this overview with your colleagues
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The 2025 DORA Report highlights the significant impact AI has on software development, revealing that it amplifies existing team dynamics rather than fixes problems. The report emphasizes that AI adoption is nearly universal, yet it can negatively affect software delivery stability. Moreover, a strong internal platform and user-centric approach are vital for maximizing AI’s benefits.
Detailed Description:
The 2025 DORA Report, focusing on AI-assisted software development, offers critical insights into the current landscape, particularly for security and compliance professionals in the tech domain. Below are the main points drawn from the report:
– **AI as an Amplifier**:
– AI enhances existing team capabilities—strong teams leverage it to improve efficiency, while struggling teams may experience amplified issues.
– Providing robust internal platforms and clear workflows is more critical than the AI tools themselves in realizing benefits.
– **Trends in AI Adoption**:
– An impressive 90% of technology professionals report using AI at work, with over 80% acknowledging increased productivity.
– However, skepticism persists: 30% express doubts regarding the trustworthiness of AI-generated code, highlighting ongoing concerns in AI reliability.
– **User-Centric Approach**:
– The optimal use of AI involves targeting specific problems with a user-centric focus, which enhances its positive impact on team performance.
– **Significance of Platform Engineering**:
– The study indicates that organizations leveraging high-quality internal platforms unlock the true value of AI, linking it to organizational success.
– **Team Archetypes**:
– The report classifies teams into seven archetypes based on software delivery performance, stability, and well-being. These archetypes help diagnose team health and identify areas for improvement.
– For example:
– “Foundational challenges” team archetype struggles with performance and suffers from high burnout.
– “Harmonious high achievers” demonstrate strong metrics across all indicators.
– **Unlocking AI Value**:
– AI’s benefits are maximized not just through adoption but by enabling favorable technical practices and a supportive cultural environment.
– The DORA AI Capabilities Model identifies seven capabilities enhancing AI’s positive impact, guiding organizations on achieving better outcomes.
– **Recommendations for Leaders**:
– The report concludes with actionable strategies for tech leaders:
– Clarify and implement AI policies within the organization.
– Align AI initiatives with internal contexts to ensure relevance.
– Invest in foundational practices, safety nets, and strengthen internal platforms.
– Maintain a focus on end-user experience to enhance AI integration.
The research serves as a guiding framework for technology teams and leaders aiming to navigate the complexities of AI in software development, underscoring the need for strategic organizational transformation to leverage AI effectively.