Cycle Time

Software development cycle time measures the amount of time from work started to work delivered. It is a metric borrowed from lean manufacturing, and it is one of the most important metrics for software development teams. In plain speak, cycle time measures the amount of time from first commit to production release.

Affected by [continuous-integration], [continuous-deployment] and [continuous-delivery] practices.

[velocity] measures completed stories per iteration. The unit is work per time, e.g. 4 stories per 2 week iteration.

Cycle Time measures the amount of time passed working on a story. The unit is time per work, e.g. 2.5 days per story.

[lead-time] measures the time elapsed between order and delivery, thus it measures your production process from your customer’s perspective.

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