This guide walks through how to interpret contribution data using the available visualisations and what patterns to look for when evaluating changes in individual performance..

Step 1: Review the Recent Tab

➡️ Where: Contributor Insights > Recent Tab

This tab provides a snapshot of the contributor’s work over the past month.

➡️Key Views:

• Work Breakdown: Shows proportions of New Work, Refactor, Churn, Help.
• Work Heatmap: Displays daily activity levels.

➡️What to look for:

• Shifts in contribution type (e.g., an increase in Help Others may indicate they’re fixing bugs introduced by teammates).
• Higher Churn might mean they’re struggling with a complex task or refactoring their own bugs.
• Activity clusters or patterns—e.g., more work happening on certain days or a drop in engagement on others.

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These insights can help uncover whether someone is overburdened, underused, or taking on a different role within the team.

Step 2: Review the Work-log Tab for Trends

➡️ Where: Contributor Insights > Work-log Tab

This section tracks longer-term contribution patterns month over month.

➡️What to look for:

• Consistent week-over-week cycles that follow the rhythm of ticket assigned → code written → ticket resolved.
• Sudden drops or gaps in activity, especially unexplained multi-day lulls.
• What happens after a gap — are there major PRs or a spike in commits that justify the downtime?

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If the follow-up work doesn’t justify the inactivity, dig deeper: were there no tasks assigned? Was the contributor blocked?

Step 3: Identify Context Behind Contribution Changes

Use both tabs together to correlate what kind of work is being done and how consistently.

➡️Look for patterns like:

• A spike in Help paired with no new work — this could indicate they’re cleaning up others' code or in a support-heavy sprint.
• Rising Churn and Refactor — signs that they’re iterating heavily on difficult or unclear work.
• Gaps followed by unfocused commits — possibly a sign of context-switching or blocked time.

Step 4: Use Findings to Support Conversations and Planning

The Contributor Insights page isn’t just for evaluation—it’s also a tool for coaching and career development.

➡️Use it to:

• Understand how someone’s work pattern has changed over time.
• Spot trends that suggest burnout, boredom, or skill misalignment.
• Inform 1:1s, retros, or planning sessions with data-backed observations.

Key Takeaways

• Use the Recent Tab to monitor how a contributor’s work type and activity level shift over a month.
• Use the Work-log Tab to track consistency and effort across weeks and months.
• Look for signs of imbalance: too much churn, too many bug fixes, or unexplained activity gaps.
• These insights help support, not scrutinise; use them for coaching, not control.