Skill: flow-metrics

Skill: flow-metrics

Purpose

Measure and improve delivery flow using Cycle Time, Lead Time, Throughput, and WIP — the four core flow metrics for any delivery team.

When to Use

• Monthly delivery review
• When delivery feels slow but cause is unclear
• When moving from output metrics (velocity) to outcome metrics (flow)

Framework: Flow Metrics

The Four Flow Metrics

1. Cycle Time Definition: Time from "work started" to "work done" Measures: How fast the team executes once work begins Target: < 3 days for stories, < 1 day for bugs

2. Lead Time Definition: Time from "request created" to "work done" Measures: End-to-end responsiveness including wait time Target: < 2 weeks for features, < 5 days for bugs

3. Throughput Definition: Number of items completed per sprint/week Measures: Team output rate Target: Stable or improving trend

4. WIP (Work In Progress) Definition: Number of items actively in progress at any time Measures: Multi-tasking and focus Target: WIP ≤ team size (ideally WIP ≤ team size × 0.5)

Step 1 — Gather Data

Ask for Jira/Azure DevOps export or manual data:

• Item ID, start date, completion date, type (story/bug/task)

Step 2 — Calculate Metrics

Metric	Formula	Last Period	Trend
Avg Cycle Time	Sum of (done - started) / count	X days	↗/→/↘
Avg Lead Time	Sum of (done - created) / count	X days	↗/→/↘
Throughput	Items completed / weeks	X items/week	↗/→/↘
Avg WIP	Daily WIP snapshots averaged	X items	↗/→/↘

Step 3 — Flow Efficiency

Flow Efficiency = Active Time / Lead Time × 100%

• 40%: Good flow

• 15–40%: Typical, room to improve
• < 15%: High wait time — investigate queues

Step 4 — Diagnosis

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
High lead time, low cycle time	Long wait in queue	Reduce batch size, limit WIP
High cycle time	Work is too large or complex	Split stories, improve specs
Low throughput	Too much WIP, blockers	WIP limits, blocker triage
Declining flow efficiency	Process overhead	Remove unnecessary approvals

Output Format

1. Metrics table with trend indicators
2. Flow efficiency score
3. Top 2 improvement recommendations
4. Suggested next command: /delivery-report or /wip-limits