Agile

LeadTimeCalculator

Measure and track lead time and cycle time for your work items. Identify bottlenecks and improve delivery speed.

Avg Lead Time

6.6 days

Target: 7 days

Avg Cycle Time

3.2 days

48% efficiency

Avg Wait Time

3.4 days

52% of lead time

Target Achievement

60%

3 of 5 items

Add Work Item

Target Settings

7

User authentication

Created: 2024-01-27

5d

3d work / 2d wait

Fix login bug

Created: 2024-02-03

2d

1d work / 1d wait

Dashboard update

Created: 2024-02-02

8d

4d work / 4d wait

API optimization

Created: 2024-02-02

6d

3d work / 3d wait

New reporting feature

Created: 2024-01-31

12d

5d work / 7d wait

Lead Time Distribution

Time Breakdown by Type

Lead Time Breakdown

Guide

Lead Time and Cycle Time are critical DevOps metrics that measure how quickly your team delivers value to customers.

Understanding Lead Time vs Cycle Time

Lead Time: Total time from when a request is created until it's delivered. Includes all waiting time and active work.

Cycle Time: Time spent actively working on the item. Excludes wait time when the item is in backlog.

Wait Time: Time an item spends waiting in queues (backlog, triage, etc.). High wait time often indicates bottlenecks.

Why These Metrics Matter

Customer Satisfaction: Faster lead time means quicker value delivery to customers.

Process Efficiency: Cycle time shows how efficient your team is at actively working on items.

Bottleneck Detection: High wait time indicates process bottlenecks or resource constraints.

Capacity Planning: Historical data helps predict delivery timelines.

How to Use This Tool

  1. Add work items with their creation and completion dates
  2. Enter cycle time (active work) and wait time (if known)
  3. Or calculate automatically from dates
  4. Analyze trends by type, stage, and time period
  5. Identify bottlenecks in your workflow
  6. Set targets and track improvement over time

Glossary

Lead Time
The total elapsed time from when a work item is created to when it's delivered. Includes all wait time and active work.
Cycle Time
The time actually spent working on a item. Excludes time the item spends waiting in queues or backlog.
Wait Time
Time an item spends waiting between stages. High wait times often indicate bottlenecks in the process.
Throughput
The number of work items completed in a given time period. Measured in items per week or month.
Cumulative Flow
A chart showing how work items move through different stages over time, helping identify bottlenecks.
WIP Limit
Work In Progress limit - a constraint on how many items can be in progress at once to reduce context switching.
Bottleneck
A point in the workflow where work accumulates faster than it can be processed, limiting overall throughput.
Little's Law
A formula: Lead Time = WIP / Throughput. Used to predict lead time based on work in progress and throughput.