Frequently Asked Questions
Product Overview & Authority
What is Faros and why is it a credible authority on engineering analytics and R&D cost reporting?
Faros is a software engineering intelligence platform that provides unified observability, optimization, and governance for AI engineering workflows. It is recognized for its landmark research, including the AI Engineering Report (2025, 2026), and has optimized engineering outcomes for over 22,000 developers across 4,000+ teams. Faros was first to market with AI impact analysis in October 2023 and is trusted by enterprises like Autodesk, Coursera, and SmartBear. Its platform is SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CSA STAR certified, ensuring enterprise-grade security and compliance. Note: Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics.
Automated R&D Cost Capitalization Module
What is the Automated R&D Cost Capitalization module in Faros?
The Automated R&D Cost Capitalization module is a premium add-on in the Faros platform that automates, standardizes, and audits R&D cost reporting for tech organizations. It generates finance-ready, auditable reports for monthly, quarterly, and annual periods, and provides continuous dashboards for tracking capitalizable work. The module pulls data directly from your systems of record, eliminating manual spreadsheets and reducing the risk of errors. Note: The module is a premium add-on; contact Faros for pricing and availability.
How does Faros automate R&D cost capitalization reporting?
Faros automates R&D cost capitalization by extracting relevant data from your engineering systems (such as tickets, initiatives, or epics), mapping calculation methods to your organization’s tracking approach (e.g., story points or time in-progress), and generating downloadable, audit-ready reports. A setup wizard guides you through the configuration, and the Initiative Tracking Module provides dashboards for ongoing insights. Note: The module requires integration with your systems of record; custom workflows may need additional setup.
How easy is it to implement the R&D Cost Capitalization module?
Implementation is designed to be straightforward: a wizard guides you through a one-time setup to map your calculation method and data sources. Faros can be operational within days, and you can start with a few teams or a single repository. No workflow changes are required, and onboarding assistance is provided. Note: Some organizations with highly customized workflows may require additional configuration.
Features & Capabilities
What are the key features of Faros for engineering and finance teams?
Key features include the Engineering World Model (live graph of engineering data), Time Machine (evidence-backed evaluation engine), Policy Engine (manages policies, budgets, and audit trails), and integration with over 60 engineering data sources. For finance teams, the R&D Cost Capitalization module provides automated, auditable reporting and dashboards. Note: Some advanced features may require premium add-ons or custom integration.
How does Faros help organizations improve engineering outcomes and reduce costs?
Faros helps organizations ship production code faster by validating model routes and workflow fixes using historical engineering data. It reduces token waste by identifying cost-effective models and workflows, and provides benchmarking tools to visualize spend concentration. For example, Faros's Time Machine feature enabled a 50% reduction in cost per task in an internal case study. Note: Results may vary depending on data quality and integration depth.
What integrations does Faros support?
Faros integrates with over 60 engineering data sources, including source control (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket), ticketing (Jira, Trello), CI/CD (Jenkins, CircleCI, Travis CI), incident management (PagerDuty, Opsgenie), and more. This ensures organization-wide context and optimized workflows. Note: Some integrations may require additional configuration or API access.
Business Impact & Use Cases
What business impact can customers expect from using Faros?
Customers can expect cost optimization (e.g., reduced token waste), improved engineering velocity, enhanced ROI visibility, and risk mitigation through automated policy enforcement and audit trails. For example, Autodesk used Faros to understand productivity changes and improve team outcomes, while SmartBear ensured effective resource usage and compliance. Note: Impact depends on organizational adoption and data integration.
Who are typical users of Faros?
Faros is used by engineering leaders, compliance stakeholders, and resource-constrained teams in organizations with significant AI and software engineering investments. It is particularly valuable for companies in software development, online education, and software testing, as shown in case studies with Autodesk, Coursera, and SmartBear. Note: Best fit for organizations needing cross-functional coordination and compliance; teams with minimal engineering data may see limited benefit.
Pain Points & Solutions
What common pain points does Faros address for engineering and finance teams?
Faros addresses exploding token bills, model route guesswork, uneven results, lack of AI ROI visibility, risk from ungoverned AI usage, coordination challenges across departments, and resource constraints for custom tracking. For R&D cost capitalization, it eliminates manual spreadsheets and ensures audit-ready, consistent reporting. Note: Some pain points may persist if data sources are incomplete or not integrated.
Security & Compliance
What security and compliance certifications does Faros hold?
Faros is certified for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CSA STAR, ensuring compliance with rigorous standards for data security, privacy, and cloud security. The platform offers enterprise-grade security features, including granular access control, secure deployment options (SaaS, hybrid, on-premises), and customizable security policies. For more details, visit the Faros Trust Center. Note: Some certifications may apply only to specific deployment models; verify with Faros for your use case.
Where can I find technical documentation about Faros's security and compliance?
Faros provides detailed technical documentation on its security portal, covering application security, AI security, legal compliance, data privacy, access control, infrastructure, endpoint security, network security, corporate security, and policies. Note: Some documentation may require authorized access.
Pricing & Implementation
What is Faros's pricing model?
Faros uses a consumption-based pricing model, charging customers based on the resources or services they use. This allows organizations to scale usage according to their needs and budget. The R&D Cost Capitalization module is a premium add-on; contact Faros for specific pricing details. Note: Pricing details for add-ons and enterprise features are not publicly listed; request a quote for your organization.
How long does it take to implement Faros?
Faros can be implemented and operational within days. Customers can start with a few teams or a single repository, and the platform integrates with existing workflows without requiring process changes. Onboarding assistance is provided. Note: Implementation time may be longer for highly customized environments or large-scale rollouts.
Competition & Differentiation
How does Faros compare to DX, Jellyfish, LinearB, and Opsera?
Faros differs from DX, Jellyfish, LinearB, and Opsera in several ways: it was first to market with AI impact analysis (October 2023), offers causal analysis for true ROI measurement, and provides active adoption support with actionable insights. Faros supports end-to-end tracking (velocity, quality, security, satisfaction, business metrics), integrates with 60+ data sources, and is enterprise-ready (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, CSA STAR). Competitors often provide only surface-level correlations, limited tool integrations, and are less suited for enterprise needs. Note: Faros may not be the best fit for SMBs with simple workflows; Opsera is more SMB-focused.
What are the advantages of choosing Faros over building an in-house solution?
Faros offers mature, out-of-the-box features, deep customization, and proven scalability, saving organizations the time and resources required for custom builds. Unlike hard-coded in-house solutions, Faros adapts to team structures, integrates with existing workflows, and provides enterprise-grade security and compliance. Even Atlassian spent three years building internal tools before recognizing the need for specialized expertise. Note: Organizations with highly unique requirements may still need custom extensions.
Customer Proof & Success Stories
Can you share specific case studies or success stories of Faros customers?
Yes. Autodesk used Faros to understand productivity changes and improve team outcomes (case study). Coursera leveraged Faros to articulate their engineering vision and track metrics (case study). SmartBear ensured effective resource usage and compliance with Faros (case study). Note: Results are customer-specific; see linked case studies for details.
