We Can Measure How Fast We Ship. Can We Measure How Well We Understand What We Built?

Margaret-Anne Storey recently flagged measurement of cognitive debt as an open research question. We have plenty of metrics for delivery speed — DORA, cycle time, merge frequency — but nothing that tells us whether the team that shipped a feature actually understands it. This article proposes a concrete starting point: the Feature Comprehension Score. At the close of each feature, an AI generates a short assessment from the development artefacts, and team members answer independently. The score maps to Naur's three layers of program understanding — domain intent, design justification, and modification capacity. I'd love to hear from anyone who has tried measuring comprehension in their teams, formally or informally. https://medium.com/gitconnected/we-can-measure-how-fast-we-ship-can-we-measure-how-well-we-understand-what-we-built-a5ad2749c8fa