Book excerpt: How can you help your software team improve? This concise book introduces codermetrics, a clear and objective way to identify, analyze, and discuss the successes and failures of software engineers—not as part of a performance review, but as a way to make the team a more cohesive and productive unit. Experienced team builder Jonathan Alexander explains how codermetrics helps teams understand exactly what occurred during a project, and enables each coder to focus on specific improvements. Alexander presents a variety of simple and complex codermetrics, and teaches you how to create your own. Learn how codermetrics changes long-held assumptions and improves team dynamics Get recommendations for integrating codermetrics into existing processes Ask the right questions to determine the type of data you need to collect Use metrics to measure individual coder skills and a team’s effectiveness over time Identify the contributions each coder makes to the team Analyze the response to your software and its features—and verify that you're meeting team and organizational goals Build better teams, using codermetrics to make personnel adjustments and additions