Guide to Calculating Lead Time and Cycle Time in Jira
📝 Context: Team with many simultaneous issues to address and no solution to track team performance and working efficiency.
🤔 User Problem: When there are lots of unsolved tasks and plans, it’s extremely hard to control all co-workers and their task performance, isn’t it? So, you need to have an effective process monitoring system to keep the deadline and take everything under the control! That’s why you need to count Cycle and Lead Time regularly! What are Cycle and Lead time? Let’s learn! |
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Before we start, let’s learn what Cycle and Lead time is.
Cycle time is the time from the beginning to the end of a certain action. It is the time during which the issue is marked as "In progress".
Lead time covers a more extended period: from receiving a request for an action (not when work begins) to the moment this action is completed, including the time in the queue.
💡 Solution: Time Between Statuses helps to calculate Cycle and Lead time effectively.
How to configure it?
Add new status group
There are two ways to do this:
1 — The first method involves using the Configuration button. This approach is particularly useful for modifying existing Status groups.
To add a new statuses group, click Configuration
Click + Time metric
2 —The second way is to create group statuses on the grid.
Click on the Time Metrics button in the upper right corner of the table to configure the conditions necessary to calculate a particular time metric.
Set start/stop and pause statuses for calculation. For example, for Cycle Time you need to choose In progress status for the start and To Review as stop status for calculation. For Lead Time: To Do - for start and Done - for Stop. Optionally, statuses like Hold or Pending can be selected as pause triggers for the timer.
Select the first/last transition to/from status to get more detailed time data.
You can set up Warning and Critical limits for Cycle and Lead time optionally. If too much time is spent on a specific issue, the system will send an email notification to the specified admin.
After the necessary setting, you will be able to view Cycle and Lead time on the time between statuses report.
Additionally, you can customize your Cycle and Lead Time reports by adjusting the app interface fields. Such as:
Type of Project;
Date range;
Time Format;
Multi Calendar (to configure non-working hours and different calendars).
At the Issue View Panel, you can visualize transition time for a specific issue (including Cycle and Lead time). It's a progress bar with a green, yellow, or red zone.
📈 Outcomes: With add-on you can monitor Cycle and Lead time for each issue, identify bottlenecks in your workflow, and track team performance. You can also export the data to Excel or Google Sheets (XLSX or CSV formats) for further analysis or sharing with stakeholders. This way, you can ensure that your team meets deadlines and maintains project flexibility |
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If you need help or want to ask questions, please contact SaaSJet Support or email us at support@saasjet.atlassian.net
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