When I think about measuring agility, flow metrics instantly spring to mind. We ultimately want to measure our time to market, which is our delivery rate. I.e. how quickly can we take an idea and get it into the hands of a customer?
Several metrics help paint this picture, this page is designed to give a high-level overview, a glossary of what the various metrics are so that you can understand and utilise the screenful delivery reports better:
Lead Time
Lead time is the total time it takes for a Product Backlog Item (PBI) to move through the whole process, from the creation of a ticket until its completion.
Cycle Time
Cycle time refers to the total amount of time it takes for a PBI to move from ‘started’ to ‘completed’.
Reaction Time
Reaction time tells you how long it takes to start working on a PBI, the time that elapses from the creation of a task until the work is started.
In essence Lead Time = Reaction Time + Cycle Time
Work In Progress (WIP)
WIP is the total number of PBIs that have started and are not yet completed.
Throughput
Throughput is a lagging metric that totals up the total number of completed PBIs in a period. Similar to velocity but rather than total the number of story points, Throughput is the total number of issues.