Lead Time and Cycle Time report
Category | Time and workload |
|---|---|
Description | How long does work take from creation, or from the start of work, until it is done? |
Overview
The Lead Time & Cycle Time report shows how long issues take to get done.
Lead time — from the moment the issue is created until it is completed. It includes the time the issue waits in the backlog.
Cycle time — from the first time the issue moves to an In progress status until it is completed. It shows how long the actual work takes.
Lead time always includes cycle time. A large gap between the two means that work waits a long time before anyone starts it. Use the report to find bottlenecks, to see whether delivery gets faster or slower, and to give realistic delivery estimates.
Create the report
In Report Builder, open the Templates tab and type Lead time in the search field. Click the Lead Time & Cycle Time template.
The chart opens on the left and the Configure panel on the right. After you change a setting in the panel, click Refresh (↻) next to Add to My Reports to recalculate the report.
Select the scope
Click the Scope field. Select Projects, Epics, single Issues or saved Filters, then click Apply filtering. The counter next to the button shows how many issues match. To type a JQL query instead, click Switch to JQL.
Include parent issues and Include child issues add the parents or the children of the matching issues.
Set up the calculation
Report Type — Lead time (from creation to the last completion) or Cycle time (from the first In progress status to the last completion).
Days previously — how many days back to look. Only issues updated in this period are processed. Enter a positive number; the default is 30.
Time Tracking Unit — show times in Minutes, Hours or Days.
Show Data Table — show the Report Data table under the chart.
Show Report Sources — show the Report Sources table, which explains the calculation (see below).
Only completed issues are counted. If the report shows Issues: 0, increase Days previously or choose a scope with resolved issues, and turn on Show Report Sources to see why issues were skipped.
Read the result
The header shows the scope and the period. Under it are the key figures for all counted issues: Average, Min, Max and the number of Issues.
In the chart, each point is one issue: the horizontal position is the date it was completed, and the height is its lead or cycle time. The colors show the issue type. Two dashed lines help you read the trend:
Average time (red) — the average over all issues in the chart.
Rolling average (blue) — the moving average over time. If it goes down, work gets done faster.
Click an issue type in the legend to hide or show it. Click ? in the header to read a short description of the report and its settings.
Report Data
The Report Data table lists every counted issue with Key, Summary, Completion Date and Measurement (the lead or cycle time in the selected unit). Click a column header to sort, for example to find the issues that took longest.
Report Sources
The Report Sources table lists all issues from the scope that were updated in the period, with Created, Started, Completed, Time and Status. Issues that are not part of the result are marked as skipped, with the reason — for example, Skipped. Issue not completed.
Save and export
Click Add to My Reports to save the report with your settings. Changes to the template are not saved until you do this.
The download icons in the chart and table headers export the chart or the table.
The ••• menu next to Add to My Reports has Save as…, Print, Export To PDF (as Image) and Export JSON.