Engagement Scores Don't Ship Features
Workpuls measures 'engagement' and 'focus time.' But an engaged developer might be writing tests that don't ship. A 'disengaged' developer might be thinking through architecture for next month's shipping. Workpuls optimizes for the wrong metric. Shipanel optimizes for what matters: shipping.
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Why Teams Leave Workpuls
Workpuls' engagement-first approach creates the wrong incentives for shipping teams:
Problem 01
Engagement Metrics Don't Predict Output
Workpuls measures 'focus time' and 'engagement scores.' But you can have high engagement and zero shipping. Or low engagement (a developer thinking deeply) and critical shipping. These metrics optimize for theater, not results. You're measuring activity, not output.
"Workpuls said our 'team engagement was down 15%.' But we shipped more features that month. The metric was irrelevant."
— Tom B., Founder
Problem 02
Creates Wrong Incentives
When you measure engagement, developers optimize for engagement theater. They look busy. They tab-switch to stay 'focused.' They do things that show up as 'engaged' even if those things don't ship. You're incentivizing the wrong behaviors.
"After we started using Workpuls, developers started doing pointless work to boost their 'engagement score.' Actual shipping suffered."
— Jenny W., Technical Founder
Problem 03
Engagement Gamification
Workpuls' gamification features (focus streaks, engagement competitions) sound fun but create perverse incentives. Developers compete to look most engaged instead of competing to ship the best features. This is motivational theater that backfires.
"The 'focus streaks' feature made developers compete to look busy. It was completely disconnected from actual productivity."
— Alex R., CEO
The Cost of Staying
Correlation between engagement scores and shipping
Of developers' time spent optimizing for engagement theater
Of shipping progress that doesn't show up in engagement metrics
How Shipanel Solves This
Shipanel measures what actually matters: shipping. Not engagement theater.
Output-First Metrics
We measure shipping: what got shipped, when did it ship, what's the quality? These are the metrics that actually matter to founders and investors.
Zero Gamification
No engagement streaks. No focus competitions. No theater. Just: here's what shipped this week. That's the only metric that matters.
Developer-Preferred Transparency
Developers trust metrics that measure output (commits) instead of metrics that measure 'engagement' (which feels arbitrary and unfair).
Real Results from Founders Like You
Alignment between metrics and actual shipping
Reduction in pointless 'engagement theater'
More accurate productivity measurement
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Engagement theater vs shipping reality:
| Feature | Workpuls | Shipanel | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus Time Tracking | Shipanel | ||
| Engagement Scoring | Shipanel | ||
| Gamification Features | Shipanel | ||
| Focus Streaks | Shipanel | ||
| Shipping Clarity | Shipanel | ||
| Output-Based Metrics | Shipanel | ||
| Developer Trust | Shipanel |
Key Insight
Workpuls optimizes for looking busy. Shipanel optimizes for actually shipping.
Switch in 5 Minutes
Switching from engagement theater to shipping reality is clarifying and improves team dynamics.
Create Shipanel Account
1 minuteshipanel.com/start → 60 seconds to access.
Invite Team
2 minutesGitHub authorization. That's it. No engagement tracking.
Connect Repos
1 minuteSelect what to monitor. No engagement scoring.
See Shipping Reality
ImmediateReal metrics that actually matter.
Cancel Workpuls
2 minutesRemove engagement theater. Developers will be relieved.
Total Migration Time
6 Minutes
Teams Who Made the Switch
Founders who've switched from engagement metrics to shipping metrics:
Tom B.
Founder, SaaS
"Workpuls told us engagement was down when we actually shipped more. Switched to Shipanel and finally got metrics that match reality."
Metrics now accurately reflect actual progress
Jenny W.
Technical Founder, 6-person team
"Workpuls gamification actually hurt productivity. Developers were optimizing for 'engagement' instead of shipping. Shipanel fixed that immediately."
Developers focus on actual shipping again
Alex R.
CEO, growing startup
"We realized Workpuls wasn't measuring anything useful. Shipped to Shipanel. Finally, metrics that align with business goals."
Metrics finally tied to business outcomes
Questions About Switching
Questions about moving from engagement metrics to shipping metrics:
Your question
answered
Engagement matters, but it's not measured by 'focus streaks' or gamification scores. Real engagement shows up as shipping. If team morale is good and features are shipping, engagement is fine. You don't need to measure it separately.
You see what they shipped. That's better proof than engagement metrics. Someone could have a perfect focus streak and ship nothing. Someone could 'skip a day' and ship critical features when they return.
Thinking time is valuable time. Workpuls would mark this as 'low engagement.' Shipanel understands that hard problems take time. When they're solved, you see it in commits.