How do you analyze WIP limits and spot bottlenecks in Jira?

[Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet]

Hi there! 

I’m a product manager, and agile delivery management isn’t exactly my strongest side. My team sometimes overreaches WIP limits, and I want to figure out how I can go beyond just setting a limit.

👉 My goal:

• Analyze WIP usage for the past sprints, months, quarters, etc.

• Find bottlenecks in our flow

• Bring those insights into retrospectives for team discussion

I know Jira has project reports, dashboard gadgets, and apps, but I’m not sure what’s most effective for this purpose.

What kind of reports in Jira (native or add-ons) do you use, and where do you surface them (board, report, dashboard)?

How do you use those insights in retrospectives?

Do you adjust WIP limits, refine workflow policies, or run experiments based on what you find?

Thanks in advance -  I’m hoping to learn from your practical experience

[Marc - Devoteam]

Hi @Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet 

WIP limits can be set on a Kanban board, if more work items are set in column to column will be high-lighted

Also enable the Days in Status option on the board, this shows how long an issue has been in that status.

To identify bootle necks, show the board in your retro and ask questions why issues are in a status for that time, you might identify what is wrong in your teams flow and see how you and the team can make suggestions to improve

[Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet]

Thanks! Are you evaluating it on a sprint basis, or do you also perform monthly analyses? Do you use something else apart from board? I was told that having a WIP chart with some trendline in my Jira dashboard might be a good thing to monitor for me. But I mostly use a project board and see progress there.