For development teams handling large, complex codebases, code familiarity is a game changer. But what exactly does it mean, and why is it so important? In this article, we break down what code familiarity is, why it’s essential for modern development, and how DevRamp helps teams measure and improve it.

Onboarding new hires, reducing technical debt, and managing growing codebases are common struggles for development teams. But there’s a surprising way to tackle these challenges: improving code familiarity. Shared code knowledge helps teams work smarter and faster, driving real results in productivity and collaboration.

When DevRamp’s co-founders scaled Movio from a startup to a global tech leader, they faced a surprising roadblock: as the codebase grew, developer productivity slowed down. While this seemed like a typical scalability issue, they discovered something deeper. Productivity wasn’t just about the size of the codebase—it was about how familiar developers were with it. This critical insight became the foundation of DevRamp.