Since 2014, the DORA research project has been applying scientific methods to study the discipline of software engineering. DORA is a tool for change: our findings are intended to be applied within practitioner contexts. But science is messy. And people are messy. So science about people can get very messy! Every year, new dynamics emerge, and long-held findings may be challenged. Flexible analytical models are necessary for good science, but they can hinder applicability: to change organizational culture requires multiple years of effort, guided by stable principles. To help practitioners make use of DORA’s framework for continuous improvement, we’re introducing DORA Core, a new lens through which to view the research. DORA Core augments our ongoing research with artifacts that focus on the project’s most durable findings: metrics and capabilities that have been perennially shown to predict positive outcomes. With Core, teams can focus their improvement efforts even more precisely on what is likely to produce tangible benefits to their organizational goals and quality of life.