What reports does LeadDev publish and what are they about?

LeadDev publishes annual reports, several in partnership with other companies, aimed at engineering leaders who want data on how teams, tools, and leadership practices are changing. The site currently lists three 2026 reports: The Engineering Team Performance Report 2026 (with O'Reilly), The AI Impact Report 2026 (with FusionAuth), and The Engineering Leadership Report 2026 (with Postman). Each is a survey-based report, so it is most useful if you want benchmark data or a structured overview of a topic rather than a tutorial.

The three reports listed on LeadDev

Engineering Team Performance Report 2026

This one is organized around five named forces — reporting, metrics, learning, skills, and review. If your question is "how should we measure and improve how our team performs," this is the closest match. It is a good fit for heads of engineering, directors, and VPs who are setting up or revisiting performance measurement.

AI Impact Report 2026

The framing here is a gap: adoption and spending on AI have risen quickly, but measurement, security, and skills have not kept up. That makes it relevant if you are being asked to justify AI spend or to put guardrails around AI use in engineering. It is less about which tools to buy and more about the organizational side of adoption.

Engineering Leadership Report 2026

Based on a survey of 600 engineering leaders, this report is aimed at people in or moving into leadership roles — staff, principal, and distinguished engineers as well as managers and above. Use it when you want a picture of how other leaders are operating rather than a specific how-to.

How to choose which report to read

• You need performance metrics or review practices → start with the Team Performance Report.
• You are rolling out AI tools or being asked about AI ROI and risk → start with the AI Impact Report.
• You want a broad view of the leadership role and peer practices → start with the Engineering Leadership Report.

All three are 2026 editions, so they reflect recent survey data rather than long-term trend lines. If you need historical comparison, check whether earlier editions are still available on the site.

Where to find them

The reports are listed on the LeadDev homepage under a "Reports" section, alongside conference talks and other content. From there you can open each report's page. Note that the homepage excerpt does not state whether reports are free to download or require registration — check the individual report page for access terms before planning to use one in a team session.

For context, LeadDev also runs conferences (for example, New York on September 8–9, 2027, with pre-sale tickets available) and publishes talks and articles on engineering leadership. The reports are one part of that content mix, not a standalone research institute, so treat them as practitioner-oriented survey summaries.