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Methodologies / Dodone — AI Engineering ROI v1 /

How Dodone works

Step 1 of 5

What does Dodone calculate?

More productive engineers do not automatically mean more money. Dodone values the same productivity change in two alternative ways.

AI coding assistants can make engineers more productive. But extra productivity does not automatically become money: someone has to use the time well, and customers have to want what gets built. Dodone looks at one year, comparing a new AI tool with carrying on without it.

One productivity change, two ways to value itAn AI tool changes engineering productivity. Path one values the engineering time released at fully loaded employment cost: capacity-based value. Path two follows the extra engineering output through to revenue and contribution profit: revenue-linked value. The two paths are alternatives and are never added together.AI tool changesproductivityTime released× employment costCapacity-basedvalueExtra output→ revenue → marginRevenue-linkedvaluealternatives —never added
  1. AI tool changes productivity
  2. Time released × employment cost → Capacity-based value
  3. Extra output → revenue → margin → Revenue-linked value
  4. Alternatives — never added together

Capacity-based value

The value of productive engineering time released, priced at what engineers cost the company (fully loaded employment cost).

Revenue-linked value (the commercial view)

The extra contribution profit that could come from additional engineering output, if it turns into sales.

These are two alternative ways of valuing the same improvement. They are never added together, and neither is a guaranteed minimum or maximum.

Examples in this guide use a fictional company with illustrative, unvalidated assumptions. Neither valuation is a promise of financial returns.