The Claes Test
The Developer Culture Test
A modern take on “The Joel Test”, focused on what shapes great software teams: clarity, autonomy, collaboration, sustainable engineering, and career growth.
This test is designed for engineering leaders, managers, and teams who want to take an honest look at their developer culture.
For each question, answer “yes” only if you can clearly demonstrate it with evidence through actions, not intentions.
Claes as in /klaːs/
1. The Basics
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes? | Evidence / Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psychological Safety | People can speak up, make mistakes, and raise concerns without fear; blameless post-mortems are practised. | ||
| 2 | Fair Wage | Salaries are regularly reviewed, benchmarked, and discussed transparently. | ||
| 3 | Flexible Hours | Developers can plan their day for focus and work-life balance, not rigid schedules. |
2. Clarity, Autonomy and Collaboration
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes? | Evidence / Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | The “Why” | Purpose and customer value are explained, not just tasks. | ||
| 5 | Clear Roadmap | Work is visible, prioritised, and linked to outcomes. | ||
| 6 | Open Communication | Discussions are honest, respectful, and focused on improvement. | ||
| 7 | Collaboration | Boundaries don’t block progress; teams solve problems together. | ||
| 8 | Rewarded Initiative | Efforts to improve, simplify, or innovate are recognised and shared. |
3. Sustainable Engineering Culture
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes? | Evidence / Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Production Readiness | Reliability, observability, and rollback plans are part of the "Definition of Done." | ||
| 10 | Code Reviews & Testing | Code is reviewed for quality; automated tests run in CI. | ||
| 11 | CI/CD | Changes can be deployed safely and frequently with minimal manual steps. | ||
| 12 | On-call Processes | Incidents are handled calmly; ownership is shared and on-call is compensated or balanced with time off. | ||
| 13 | InnerSource | Teams share code and tools openly across the organisation. |
4. Career Progression and Growth
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes? | Evidence / Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Technical Managers | Managers understand the technical context and support engineers effectively. | ||
| 15 | Career Ladder | Paths for growth are transparent, fair, and based on impact. | ||
| 16 | Parallel Tracks | Technical excellence (IC) and leadership (Manager) are equally valued. | ||
| 17 | Feedback Culture | Feedback is ongoing, two-way, and used for growth. | ||
| 18 | Growth Investment | There’s dedicated time and budget for learning and mentoring. |
Your Score: 0 / 18
Select your answers above.
How to Use
Run this as a team exercise. Discuss each question openly and agree on whether the answer is genuinely “yes”. If a question is left unticked, you’ve likely found friction in your environment.
Capture examples and gaps, then turn them into concrete improvement actions.
Remember Kurt Lewin’s equation:
\[B = f(P, E)\]Behavior is a function of the Person and their Environment. Fix the environment, and the behavior will follow.