History

Work in progress per state during the last 13 weeks: how much, how old, and how its cycle time compares

Work in progress, age and cycle time per state Time runs from 13 weeks ago to today. Each state but Done has a panel of its own, from New at the top to Implementing at the bottom. In its own color, its line shows how many work items it held on each day, read off the left axis. Where it held more than its WIP limit, the line runs on a red band that deepens the further above the limit it is. The right axis counts days. In gray, a band shows how long its work items had been in the state, from the youngest to the oldest, with a line through the median; it breaks on days the state held nothing. A thin line, green at zero, shading to yellow above it and to red below, shows how many days longer the actual average cycle time was than the approximate average. Above the dashed green zero line the state is paying off flow debt: older work items are finished first while younger ones wait. Below it the state is building up flow debt: younger work items are finished first while older ones stall. Days the next state has not caught up with by today are left out. All panels share both axes. Pointing at a day reads out every state's work in progress, ages and cycle time difference. Work in progressDays: age in state, average cycle time actual − approximate90310-16Implementing90310-16Prepared90310-16Preparing90310-16New2026-06-302026-08-142026-09-28 Time