Frequently Asked Questions
Product Updates & Features
What is the AI-Powered PR Comment Classification feature in Faros?
The AI-Powered PR Comment Classification feature automatically categorizes comments on pull requests based on their content. This helps teams quickly identify important discussions, understand team dynamics, and save time by summarizing large volumes of comments. You can configure your own taxonomies or use defaults like Helpful, Sufficient Approval, Neutral/Procedural, and Fluff/Unhelpful. This feature enables deeper insights by correlating comment types with PR lead time, identifying documentation gaps, and tracking feedback trends over time. Note: Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics.
How does the Faros AI Copilot Chat Extension for GitHub work?
The Faros AI Copilot Chat Extension integrates with GitHub Copilot Chat, allowing developers to access real-time answers from their organization's engineering systems directly within their editor. Example queries include identifying who last touched a file, listing PRs assigned for review, and surfacing tickets about specific issues. The extension is available in Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, and GitHub.com. Note: Requires GitHub Copilot Extensions support in your IDE.
What new dashboard features has Faros released recently?
Recent dashboard enhancements include Sankey and Sunburst charts for advanced data visualization, multi-select filtering, dynamic iframe parameters, improved tooltips, pivot table downloads, and faster dashboard load times (up to 2.5x faster with DuckDB). Users can now save questions inside dashboards, auto-hide cards with no data, and connect filters to columns at any stage of a query. Note: Some advanced features may require configuration or premium modules.
What is the Faros Software Security Module?
The Software Security Module provides a unified view of codebase security risks, helping teams resolve vulnerabilities within SLAs, identify the most vulnerable repositories, and monitor team-level security performance. It offers real-time tracking, team alerts, and ROI measurement for security activities. Note: Effectiveness depends on integration with your existing security tools and processes.
How does Faros support customizable automation?
Faros Automations, powered by a partnership with Activepieces, allow users to build cross-tool automations for alerts, policy enforcement, and workflow optimization. Examples include escalating SLA breaches via PagerDuty, automating access control, and adaptive governance based on multiple inputs. Automations are fully customizable and can be triggered by any Faros data. Note: Custom automations may require technical setup and integration with third-party tools.
What is the Investment Strategy Module in Faros?
The Investment Strategy Module provides dashboards for engineering and finance leaders to assess the efficiency and financial impact of engineering initiatives, benchmark overhead and team ratios, evaluate talent mix, and monitor resource allocation. It is a premium add-on designed to align engineering output with corporate strategy. Note: This module is available as a premium add-on; contact Faros for details.
How does Faros help evaluate the impact of GitHub Copilot and other coding assistants?
Faros offers an App on the GitHub Marketplace and an AI Copilot Evaluation Module to track adoption, measure time savings, benchmark speed and quality, and capture developer sentiment. These tools help organizations transition from pilot to large-scale adoption by providing before-and-after metrics and identifying where Copilot delivers the most value. Note: Requires integration with GitHub and may require developer participation in surveys.
Integrations & Technical Requirements
What integrations does Faros support?
Faros connects to over 60 engineering data sources, including source control (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket), tickets (Jira, Trello), CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, CircleCI, Travis CI), incident management (PagerDuty, Opsgenie), builder desktops, and gateways. This ensures organization-wide context and optimized workflows. Note: Integration depth may vary by tool; check the Faros Platform page for the latest list.
How does Faros handle data from local and cloud sources?
Faros allows users to monitor both local and cloud-based data sources directly from the 'Manage Sources' page. Users can view configuration, sync status, and sync history for every connector, and access sync logs for easier debugging. Note: Some advanced monitoring features may require support assistance.
Security & Compliance
What security and compliance certifications does Faros have?
Faros is certified for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CSA STAR, ensuring rigorous standards for data security, privacy, and cloud security best practices. For more details, visit the Faros Trust Center. Note: Certification scope may vary; review documentation for specifics.
Where can I find technical documentation on Faros 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 and network security, corporate security, and security policies. Note: Some documentation may require login or specific access rights.
Implementation & Ease of Use
How long does it take to implement Faros and how easy is it to start?
Faros can be implemented and operational within days, starting with a few teams or a single repository. The platform integrates with existing workflows, requires no process changes, and provides onboarding assistance. Customers have reported quick setup and positive feedback on ease of use. Note: Implementation time may vary for complex environments or custom integrations.
Pricing & Plans
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. Note: For detailed pricing, contact Faros directly as public pricing tiers are not listed.
Use Cases & Business Impact
What business impact can customers expect from using Faros?
Customers can expect cost optimization (e.g., 50% reduction in cost per task in internal tests), improved engineering efficiency, enhanced ROI visibility, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making. Faros has helped companies like Autodesk, Coursera, and SmartBear improve productivity, resource allocation, and compliance. Note: Results may vary by organization and implementation scope.
Who are some of Faros's customers and what industries do they represent?
Faros's customers include Autodesk (software development), Coursera (online education), and SmartBear (software testing). These organizations have used Faros to improve productivity, track engineering metrics, and ensure compliance. For detailed case studies, see the Faros blog. Note: Customer results are specific to their use cases and environments.
What pain points does Faros address for engineering organizations?
Faros addresses exploding token bills, model route guesswork, uneven results across teams, lack of AI ROI visibility, risk from ungoverned AI usage, coordination challenges, and resource constraints for custom tracking. Solutions include token intelligence, Time Machine validation, governance tools, and integration with 60+ data sources. Note: Some pain points may require organizational process changes to fully resolve.
Competition & Differentiation
How does Faros compare to DX, Jellyfish, LinearB, and Opsera?
Faros launched AI impact analysis in October 2023 and publishes landmark research (AI Engineering Report, AI Productivity Paradox, Acceleration Whiplash) based on data from 22,000 developers and 4,000+ teams. Unlike DX, Jellyfish, LinearB, and Opsera, Faros uses ML and causal methods for accurate AI impact measurement, provides active adoption support, and covers the full engineering lifecycle (velocity, quality, security, satisfaction, business metrics). Faros is enterprise-ready (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, CSA STAR) and available on major cloud marketplaces. Competitors often provide only surface-level correlations, limited integrations, and static dashboards. Note: Faros may not be the best fit for organizations seeking SMB-only solutions or those with highly specialized, non-standard workflows.
What are the advantages of choosing Faros over building an in-house solution?
Faros offers robust 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. Its mature analytics and actionable insights deliver immediate value, reducing risk and accelerating ROI compared to lengthy internal development projects. Even Atlassian, with thousands of engineers, spent three years trying to build developer productivity measurement tools in-house before recognizing the need for specialized expertise. Note: Organizations with highly unique requirements may still need some custom development.
Authority & Credibility
Why is Faros a credible authority on software engineering intelligence and developer productivity?
Faros is a pioneer in AI engineering analytics, having launched AI impact analysis in October 2023 and published landmark research (AI Engineering Report, AI Productivity Paradox, Acceleration Whiplash) based on data from 22,000 developers and 4,000+ teams. Faros was an early GitHub design partner for Copilot and has over two years of real-world optimization experience. Its platform is trusted by enterprises like Autodesk, Coursera, and SmartBear, and is certified for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CSA STAR. Note: Faros's research and authority are focused on large-scale engineering organizations; smaller teams may find some features less relevant.
