Customer Lead Time

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Heads up! The path to "done" isn't just about charging ahead. It's about staying agile and ready to pivot. That's the essence of agile: being flexible, making continuous improvements, and acting decisively when tweaks are needed, big or small.

It's not about crossing the finish line at any cost.

Enter agile metrics – our secret weapon for seeing the big picture. 

Think of it like a puzzle with key pieces you can't do without. Customer Lead Time, along with other crucial agile metrics like velocity, sprint burndown, and cumulative flow diagrams, is an absolute must. Let's dive in and make every project count! 🚀🔑

What is Customer Lead Time, and Why is it So Important?

Customer Lead Time tracks the lifecycle of each work item: from the moment it "starts" (enters the backlog) to the moment it "finishes" (is released and ready to validate outcomes).

From a customer's perspective, this metric is invaluable. It offers predictability in estimating project time and budget and helps plan team augmentation projects, which rely on aligning augmented staff with internal teams and processes.

Measuring lead time gives us crucial data to make the development pipeline more efficient and transparent.

Lead Time vs. Delivery Time

Lead time is the total time from when a request is made until it's completed.

Delivery time is when the product is ready to ship until it reaches the customer.

Now that we've painted a clear picture, let's explore the nuances deeper. 🌟🔍

How to Speed Up the Process?

We aimed to gather all the necessary data to optimize the lead time for each product we sell with our partners. However, collecting raw data is just the beginning; using it effectively is the real challenge. We'll dive into measuring and calculating the necessary metrics later.

First, ask yourself some critical questions:

• Are your teams breaking stories into small enough steps?
• Are code reviews performed instantly, or is there a significant wait time?
• How long does the QA cycle take? Are there any bottlenecks in the process?
• What are the most frustrating obstacles in the development process?

Over time, teams can become accustomed to even the most frustrating obstacles to the point where they see them as just part of the process. This is a significant drawback because, in retrospect, team members may not even recognize certain obstacles or delays—as if everything is working as usual! Therefore, it's crucial to identify such unusual pauses in time.

Customer Lead Time: The keyword is Customer

Lead times should be measured for each project the team is working on and shared openly.

Each potential partner will likely have different expectations regarding product lead times, which are perfectly normal.

You'll be more effective at meeting customer expectations by measuring and tracking lead time. With this data, you can:

• Make more accurate estimates: Understand your team's capacity and velocity better.
• Meet deadlines more consistently and efficiently: Identify potential delays early and take corrective action.
• Improve communication: Share lead time data openly with partners to manage expectations and build trust.

Benefits of Tracking Customer Lead Time

1. Enhanced Predictability: Historical lead time data helps predict future project timelines more accurately.
2. Better Planning: Identify trends and patterns to optimize resource allocation and project scheduling.
3. Increased Transparency: Openly sharing lead time metrics fosters trust and aligns expectations with partners.
4. Continuous Improvement: Regularly review lead time data to identify areas for improvement and drive operational efficiency.

How to measure Customer Lead Time

Jira Control Chart

You can partially assess this using a Control Chart, including initial statuses such as Backlog, To Do, etc. 

Jira Cumulative Flow Diagram

It helps visualize the flow of work through different stages.

Add-ons for Jira

There are many solutions. I want to draw your attention to an app from my team - Time Metrics Tracker. By easily configuring the necessary time metrics, in this case, Lead Time, you will receive the required reports and visualize them with a histogram. 

Also, to proactively respond to delays, you can set up notifications when the metric value approaches a critical threshold.

Embrace the Metric

Adopting customer lead time as a key metric is essential for continuous improvement and ensuring a more efficient development pipeline. It not only helps in optimizing internal processes but also builds stronger, more transparent relationships with partners and customers.

[Mahmood Al Badi]

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