Pull Request Frequency
Pull Request Frequency measures how often pull requests (PRs) are merged into the main codebase. It reflects the cadence of code integration and the team’s ability to break down work into reviewable, testable units.
Calculation
A merged pull request is typically defined as a completed code change that has passed review and been successfully integrated into a shared branch often, main, develop, or a release branch.
This metric is calculated by counting the number of pull requests merged during a specific time window:
pr frequency = number of merged pull requests ÷ time period
Goals
Pull Request Frequency helps teams assess delivery flow at the commit and review level. It answers questions like:
- Are we merging work in small, steady increments?
- Is our review and integration process supporting frequent delivery?
- Are some teams or services producing more code than others?
This metric supports faster feedback, smaller batch sizes, and tighter delivery loops. For research-backed context, see GitHub’s quantitative study on software development productivity.
Variations
Pull Request Frequency may also be referred to as PR Merge Rate or Code Integration Frequency. Common breakdowns include:
- By contributor, to measure individual or pair-programming output
- By service or repository, to identify activity across systems
- By pull request type, such as feature, bugfix, refactor, or documentation
Some teams track rolling PR frequency over time to spot delivery slowdowns. Others segment by PR size or review duration to correlate throughput with review friction.
Limitations
PR Frequency tells you how often code changes are integrated, but not their quality, size, or user impact. A high PR count may reflect small, trivial changes, while low frequency could reflect large features merged in fewer batches.
This metric also does not account for work in progress that has not yet been merged. Long-running branches or delayed reviews may suppress frequency without surfacing delivery risks.
To provide better insight into delivery health, use PR Frequency alongside:
| Complementary Metric | Why It’s Relevant |
|---|---|
| Pull Request Size | Clarifies whether frequent merges reflect small, reviewable changes or bloated PRs. |
| Review Latency | Highlights how long PRs sit waiting for feedback before they’re merged. |
| Deployment Frequency | Connects PR activity to actual production releases for a fuller picture of flow. |
Optimization
Improving Pull Request Frequency means creating a consistent rhythm of merging small, testable changes with minimal delay.
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Encourage small, focused PRs. Smaller pull requests are easier to review and integrate. Teams practicing Trunk-Based Development tend to merge changes more frequently.
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Align planning granularity. Ensure that stories and tasks are broken down into units that support iterative delivery. Poorly scoped work delays PR creation and review.
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Review code promptly. Delays in review suppress merge frequency. Apply Code Review Best Practices, rotate reviewers, and establish SLAs to maintain momentum.
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Automate validation steps. Use [CI/CD] pipelines to test, lint, and verify PRs on submission. This reduces manual review burden and speeds up integration readiness.
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Visualize PR flow. Track merge volume, average time to merge, and open PR age to detect blockers and hidden queues in the workflow.
High pull request frequency is not about churning code, it’s about maintaining a steady, reviewable flow of integrated changes that supports rapid iteration and continuous improvement.
