BayesInsights: Modelling Software Delivery and Developer Experience with Bayesian Networks at Bloomberg

TL;DR

BayesInsights is a Bayesian Network-based tool developed at Bloomberg to visualize causal dependencies in software engineering, aiding decision-making and identifying delivery challenges.

Contribution

The paper introduces BayesInsights, a novel interactive tool that models software delivery and developer experience using Bayesian Networks, integrating expert insight and structure learning.

Findings

95.8% of practitioners found the tool useful for identifying delivery challenges

Successfully integrated BayesInsights into Bloomberg's data analytics solutions

Validated the tool through performance benchmarking and user surveys

Abstract

As software in industry grows in size and complexity, so does the volume of engineering data that companies generate and use. Ideally, this data could be used for many purposes, including informing decisions on engineering priorities. However, without a structured representation of the links between different aspects of software development, companies can struggle to identify the root causes of deficiencies or anticipate the effects of changes. In this paper, we report on our experience at Bloomberg in developing a novel tool, dubbed BayesInsights, which provides an interactive interface for visualising causal dependencies across various aspects of the software engineering (SE) process using Bayesian Networks (BNs). We describe our journey from defining network structures using a combination of established literature, expert insight, and structure learning algorithms, to integrating BayesInsights into existing data analytics solutions, and conclude with a mixed-methods evaluation of performance benchmarking and survey responses from 24 senior practitioners at Bloomberg. Our results revealed 95.8% of participants found the tool useful for identifying software delivery challenges at the team and organisational levels, cementing its value as a proof of concept for modelling software delivery and developer experience. BayesInsights is currently in preview, with access granted to seven engineering teams and a wider deployment roadmap in place for the future.