Cycle Time
In the words of Lean, cycle time is the “amount of time needed to deliver value.” Put even more plainly, this is speed: how long does it take to deliver work, from start to finish?
ANALYSIS
Essential, and not just for software companies. The long pole in almost any business initiative will be the time it takes to deliver the enabling software. Without the right tooling, however, Cycle Time is tough to measure. Manual tracking & reporting of time spent is not a viable approach.
Definition & formula
[units of work delivered] / days
In the words of Lean, cycle time is the “amount of time needed to deliver value.” Put even more plainly, this is speed: how long does it take to deliver a unit of work, from start to finish?
The Socratic view
Essential, and not just for software companies. The long pole in almost any business initiative will be the time it takes to deliver the enabling software. Without the right tooling, however, Cycle Time is tough to measure. Manual tracking & reporting of time spent is not a viable approach.
Background
Cycle Time is a software engineering metric that originated from the Lean framework. It has been widely used since the early 2000s to measure the speed of delivering value in software development projects. Lean principles emphasize the reduction of waste and continuous improvement, and Cycle Time serves as a key indicator of process efficiency.
Use cases
Cycle Time is commonly used by software engineering teams to track and optimize the time it takes to complete individual tasks or deliver software features. It is utilized across various industries and by teams of different sizes. Development managers, product owners, and project stakeholders rely on Cycle Time to gain insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of their development processes.
Evaluating the metric
A shorter Cycle Time is indicative of an effective and healthy engineering team. It signifies faster product deliveries and better business outcomes. On the other hand, longer Cycle Times suggest inefficiencies in the delivery process, potentially leading to reduced customer satisfaction and revenue stagnation.
A good value for Cycle Time depends on the specific context and project. However, in general, a lower Cycle Time is desirable as it signifies faster value delivery. It is important to establish benchmarks within the organization and compare Cycle Time against them to assess performance. An analysis of the metric can help identify bottlenecks in the development process and enable teams to focus on areas that need improvement.
Overall, Cycle Time provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of software engineering processes, enabling teams to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve their delivery capabilities.