This standard ensures teams measure time spent in each stage of their delivery workflow, making bottlenecks and wait states visible. By tracking time-in-status data, teams can continuously optimise flow and reduce wasted effort.
Aligned with our "Limit Work in Progress (WIP)" policy, this standard promotes faster, more predictable delivery and stronger collaboration. Without it, bottlenecks remain hidden, lead times stretch, and continuous improvement stalls.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| People & Culture | Teams work without visibility into flow efficiency. Time delays are not discussed or prioritised. |
| Process & Governance | Delivery stages are informal or undefined. No expectation to track time-in-status. |
| Technology & Tools | Boards or tools are not configured to support tracking. Metrics are unavailable or inaccurate. |
| Measurement & Metrics | No time-in-status data is collected. Flow problems are surfaced only through frustration or incident. |
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| People & Culture | Some team members begin exploring time-in-status data. Awareness of bottlenecks emerges. |
| Process & Governance | Workflows include basic stage definitions. Teams occasionally review work-in-progress limits. |
| Technology & Tools | Basic status tracking is available in tooling (e.g., Jira). Visual indicators show how long items stay in each column. |
| Measurement & Metrics | Time-in-status is measured on a small subset of work. Data may not yet inform decisions. |
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| People & Culture | Time-in-status is discussed as part of delivery health. Teams value flow efficiency and continuous improvement. |
| Process & Governance | Time tracking is built into all stages of the workflow. Retrospectives include review of stage delays. |
| Technology & Tools | Shared dashboards provide visibility into cycle time and stage duration. Tools are configured to collect consistent data. |
| Measurement & Metrics | Stage-level time data is collected for all work items. Trends and averages are reviewed and shared. |
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| People & Culture | Teams actively manage their own flow. Time-in-status metrics are used to challenge status quo. |
| Process & Governance | Process tweaks are based on data from time-in-status trends. Experiments are run to reduce delays. |
| Technology & Tools | Stage durations are benchmarked over time. Flow metrics are integrated into team dashboards. |
| Measurement & Metrics | Median and variance of time-in-status is tracked. Teams compare against defined SLAs or improvement targets. |
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| People & Culture | Teams use time-in-status data to inform prioritisation and delivery sequencing. Flow optimisation is a routine practice. |
| Process & Governance | Flow friction is addressed proactively. Governance bodies support and promote improvements through metrics. |
| Technology & Tools | Tools provide predictive insights into likely delays. Work is reshaped in real time based on flow health. |
| Measurement & Metrics | Delays are reduced through targeted improvements. Flow metrics contribute to strategic and architectural decisions. |