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
If these are missing, the environment is working against the people.
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes / No | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psychological Safety | People can speak up, make mistakes, and raise concerns without fear; blameless post-mortems are practiced. | [ ] | |
| 2 | Fair Wage | Salaries are regularly reviewed, benchmarked, and discussed transparently. | [ ] | |
| 3 | Flexibility | Developers can plan their day for focus and balance, not rigid schedules. | [ ] |
2. Clarity, Autonomy and Collaboration
High performance is a product of aligned effort.
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes / No | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Cross-functional 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
Building the safety net into the daily workflow.
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes / No | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Production Readiness | Reliability, observability, and rollback plans are part of the “Definition of Done.” | [ ] | |
| 10 | Quality Gates | Code reviews and automated tests are non-negotiable and run in CI. | [ ] | |
| 11 | CI/CD | Changes can be deployed safely and frequently with minimal manual steps. | [ ] | |
| 12 | Humane On-Call | Incidents are handled calmly; 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
Growth as a function of impact.
| # | Question | What to look for | Yes / No | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Technical Leadership | 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 | IC and Manager tracks are separate and equally valued. | [ ] | |
| 17 | Feedback Culture | Feedback is ongoing, two-way, and used for growth; not performance policing. | [ ] | |
| 18 | Growth Investment | There’s dedicated time and budget for learning and mentoring. | [ ] |
Scoring Guide
- 15–18 → Exceptional: Protect and build upon it.
- 10–14 → Healthy: Identify one area per quarter to improve.
- 0–9 → Warning: Focus on essentials like safety, clarity, and leadership.
How to Use
Run this as a team exercise. Discuss each question openly and agree on whether the answer is genuinely “yes”. If you find a “No,” you have found the friction in your environment.
Remember Kurt Lewin’s equation:
\[B = f(P, E)\]Behaviour is a function of the Person and their Environment. Fix the environment, and the behaviour will follow.