What is cycle time?
Cycle time is the elapsed time between when a team starts working on a ticket (status moves to in progress) and when it's finished (status moves to done). It measures how long actual work takes once it begins.
Lower, more consistent cycle time = faster delivery and more predictable forecasts.
How to measure cycle time
- Record the timestamp when a ticket enters "In Progress".
- Record the timestamp when it enters "Done".
- Subtract. That's the cycle time for that ticket.
- Track the median (not the mean) across recent tickets; averages get distorted by long-tail outliers.
Cycle time vs lead time
- Cycle time: start of work → done.
- Lead time: when the request was made (or backlog created) → done. Lead time is always ≥ cycle time.
Lead time is what the customer feels. Cycle time is what the team controls.
Why cycle time matters
- Faster feedback loops: short cycle time means smaller batches and faster learning.
- Predictability: if 85% of tickets finish in under 5 days, you can confidently commit to a 5-day SLA.
- Bottleneck signal: when cycle time grows, something in the workflow is breaking.
How to reduce cycle time
- Smaller stories: break anything bigger than 5 points further down.
- Apply WIP limits; fewer items in flight = each one finishes faster.
- Faster code review: tickets parked in review usually dominate cycle time.