How do I track lead and cycle time in Kanban boards using JIRA

Question

How do you track lead time and cycle time in Kanban boards using JIRA? What are the best practices for visualizing these metrics to help improve flow efficiency?

Answer 1

Tracking lead and cycle time in JIRA allows you to understand how long it takes to accomplish tasks from beginning to end, which is critical for process optimization. Here's how to track lead and cycle time with JIRA Kanban boards:

• Enable the Control Chart - JIRA has a built-in control chart functionality that helps manage lead and cycle time for jobs on a Kanban board.
  • The Lead Time is the amount of time it takes for a task to move from "To Do" to "Done" on the board.
  • Cycle Time is the amount of time it takes for an activity to progress from "In Progress" to "Done."
• Configure a control chart in JIRA to see lead and cycle times:
  • Navigate to your Kanban board in JIRA.
  • Open the board's settings and go to the "Reports" section.
  • To display time-based metrics, select the Control Chart.
• Use Filters for Custom Time Tracking - In JIRA, you may use filters to segment lead and cycle times based on user, task type, or project. This provides you with insights into specific bottlenecks or places for improvement.

Tracking lead and cycle time in JIRA allows you to continuously optimize workflows and decrease inefficiencies on Kanban boards.