Download the SURGE Paper

SURGE™ FRAMEWORK ·  Co-authored with the DORA lead at Google Cloud

Prove what your AI engineering spend actually returned.

A framework, built on DORA and SPACE, for the question that spend dashboards and delivery pipelines leave open: is your AI investment actually working?

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Introducing SURGE™: A Framework for Proving AI ROI

For CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and Directors accountable for Al tooling outcomes.
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What is a SURGE Framework?

DORA told you how you deliver. SURGE tells you what your AI spend returned.

Five parts. Each answers one question, for the person who is actually asking it.
Together they turn AI spend from a line item you defend into a return you can prove.

Spend

Where the AI dollars go: cost by tool, model, team, and token usage. 

Utilization

Who actually uses AI, where, and how much sits idle. 

Recovery

How much budget is recoverable: wrong models, zombie agents, overlapping licenses, over-committed contracts. 

Gains

What the spend produced: AI-attributed code in production, cost per PR, feature impact.

Efficiency

Whether engineering output actually improved: speed, quality, rework, and throughput.

Build for the people responsible for AI outcomes

CTO and
VP Engineering

You need output per dollar, not seats activated. SURGE gives you the number and the method behind it, so the conversation with finance starts from evidence.

CFO and
FinOps.

You approved the budget on a projection. SURGE shows real burn against every contract, what is recoverable, and what the spend produced, before you walk into renewal.

CEO and
board

AI shapes capacity, velocity, and cost across the company. SURGE turns "we rolled it out" iinto "here is what happened and what it returned," on one dashboard.

What makes SURGE different?

SURGE extends DORA and SPACE, it does not replace them. SURGE completes the modern engineering equation, sitting alongside DORA (delivery) and SPACE (DevEx) to measure AI efficiency of your engineering system and replacing estimates with hard telemetry data.

What's inside the report:
The SURGE AI ROI calculation framework to run on your data
Leak-detection tactics to recover lost spend
Data-backed rollout strategies
A free AI leverage self-assessment tool
Team readiness metrics to scale safely
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Written by people who have had to answer this question

Author

A decade as a CTO running 200+ engineers before founding Hivel, which now measures AI adoption and delivery across 100,000+ engineers. Three-time founder.
Sudheer Bandaru
Founder & CEO, Hivel

Co-Author

Leads the DORA research program, the industry's longest-running study of software delivery performance. Co-authored SURGE™  to connect AI spend measurement with the delivery metrics teams already trust.
Nathen Harvey
DORA lead, Google Cloud

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Hivel to use SURGE?

No. SURGE is a framework. The paper shows the inputs and the calculation so you can run it on data you already have in Git, your CI, and your AI tool admin consoles. Hivel automates it; it does not own it.

How is this different from DORA and SPACE?

DORA measures delivery. SPACE measures developer experience. Neither connects AI spend to either one. SURGE sits alongside both and answers the question they leave open.

Will someone call me?

You will get the paper immediately and one follow-up email with the self-assessment. If you want to see the numbers for your own org, you can ask for a free 14-day AI leverage report. Nobody dials you for downloading a PDF.

Who should read it?

CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Directors of Engineering, and the finance partners who sign the AI tooling renewal. If your organization has more than 100 engineers and more than one paid AI coding tool, it applies to you.

Your renewal is coming. Walk in with a number.

Get the SURGE  framework and the calculation behind it. Free, instant, no demo attached.
Send me the paper

Get the full picture on your AI adoption and impact.

We'll show you exactly how AI is impacting your speed and code quality.

NO CODE ACCESS
FREE AI ROI REPORT
NO CREDIT CARD
4.7/5