Process efficiency metrics

Process efficiency metrics show how smoothly work flows through your team. The most important metric is cycle time — how long it takes to complete one piece of work from start to finish. For example, if a feature takes 10 days from coding to release, that's your cycle time.

Work in progress (WIP) limits help control how many tasks a team handles at once. A common rule is having no more than 2-3 tasks per person. For instance, in a team of 5 people, the total WIP limit should be around 10 tasks. Having too many open tasks usually means nothing gets finished quickly.

Teams should also track how often their work gets blocked. If tasks are marked as blocked more than 20% of the time, there's likely a process problem to fix. Common blocks include waiting for reviews, unclear requirements, or dependency issues.