Tracking repository health at scale

How Trainline uses observability dashboards to measure, align, and improve repository health, providing visibility into the platform’s state and aligning with its tech vision.

Tracking repository health over time can be challenging, often

relying on subjective assessments of where work is needed. At Trainline, we’ve taken a different approach by programmatically defining health standards and using data to score, visualise, and enforce alignment with these standards.

This talk explores how the Trainline web platform team uses dashboards to consolidate its web estate and align it with the company’s broader tech vision. I’ll share the practical impact of this approach, including:

• Improved visibility into the size and status of the repository estate.
• Enhanced communication around repository health.
• Tools for tracking changes over time and identifying trends.
• Encouraging self-service for repository management.
• Working towards consistent developer experience across all repositories.
• Prioritising work with the most significant impact.
• Redefining repository ownership and tracking progress.
• Automating health observability and incentivising contributors to make improvements.

While our blog post [https://medium.com/trainline/repository-health-dashboard-342f6db3217b] covers the technical foundations of this dashboard, this talk will focus on its human impact: how it fosters collaboration, improves alignment, and drives behaviour change.

Attendees will leave with a new perspective on observability—not just for code in production but as a powerful tool for managing repository health at scale.

Key takeaways

• Observability isn’t just for runtime systems; it can provide powerful insights into repository health.
• Learn how to implement observability practices to track, align, and improve your codebase’s state.
• Understand how dashboards can encourage better behaviours, collaboration and decision-making.