Time in Status vs. Time Between Statuses

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No matter how it may seem at first glance, the Time in Status and Time Between Statuses metrics are different. They seem to indicate similar phenomena in workflows, but they are not. Ultimately, the choice between Time in Status and Time Between Statuses will depend on the team's specific goals and needs. 

Let's compare these two metrics and better understand their specifics.

Time in Status

Time in Status refers to the amount of time an issue spends in a particular status. This metric helps teams understand how long it takes to complete work in specific workflow stages. For example, if an issue is in the In Progress status, Time in Status measures how long a team member has worked on it.

Tracking Time in Status can help identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or opportunities for improvement in the team's workflow. It can also help set realistic expectations for how long tasks should take in each status.

Time Between Statuses

Time Between Statuses, also known as Transition Time, measures the time it takes for an issue to move from one status to another. This metric provides insight into the overall flow of work through the team's workflow, including wait times and handoffs between team members.

For example, if an issue moves from To Do to In Progress and then to Code Review, the Time Between Statuses would measure the total time it took to complete each stage.

Tracking Time Between Statuses helps teams understand the efficiency of their workflow and identify improvement areas, such as collaboration and reduced wait times.

Comparison of Time in Status and Time Between Statuses

When deciding which metric to use, teams should consider their specific goals and needs. Time in Status is often more suitable for in-depth analytics and identifying trends and patterns. Time Between Statuses is more appropriate for real-time monitoring and quickly identifying bottlenecks caused by wait times or handoffs between team members.

Metric	Definition	Measurement	Purpose	Use Cases	Strengths
Time in Status	The amount of time an issue spends in a particular status.	Time elapsed between entering and exiting a specific status.	Understand how long it takes to complete work in specific workflow stages and identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies.	💡 Identify which workflow stages take the longest to complete and optimize them for better performance.	🧠 Provides detailed insights into how long issues are spent in each workflow status.
				💡 Set realistic expectations for how long tasks should take in each status.	🧠 Useful for in-depth analytics and identifying trends and patterns over time.
				💡 Monitor the progress of individual issues and ensure that they are moving through the workflow as expected.
				💡 Identify issues stuck in a particular status for too long and take action to unblock them.	🧠 Helps teams set realistic expectations for how long tasks should take in each status.
Time Between Statuses	The amount of time it takes for an issue to move from one status to another.	Time elapsed between transitioning from one status to another.	Understand the efficiency of the workflow as a whole, including wait times and handoffs between team members, and identify areas for improvement.	💡 Identify bottlenecks in the workflow caused by wait times or handoffs between team members.	🧠 Provides a view of how work is flowing through the workflow.
				💡 Optimize the workflow to reduce wait times and improve collaboration between team members.	🧠 Useful for real-time monitoring and quickly identifying bottlenecks caused by wait times or handoffs between team members.
				💡 Monitor the overall performance of the team and track improvements over time.
				💡 Identify issues waiting for too long in a particular transition and take action to move them forward.	🧠 Helps teams optimize the workflow and improve collaboration between team members.

By using both metrics, teams can better understand their workflow and make data-driven decisions to improve performance and deliver value faster.

Measuring Time in Status and Time Between Statuses

High-quality metrics measurement in Jira is available using third-party apps. My team is the developer of two such add-ons.

Let's start the review with the Time in Status app

This tool allows you to generate seven types of reports designed to comprehensively analyze the Time in Status metric (Time in Status, Assignee Time, Average Time, Status Entrance Date, Status Count, Transition Count, Time in Status per Date).

The Time in Status app can consolidate issues and provide time-related metrics such as the average time an issue spends on a particular status within a given period or the duration an overarching issue, like an epic, remains in a specific status. However, its primary function is distinctly different. It offers a more detailed analysis of individual issues, helping you address queries like:

• The frequency of issues transitioning between various statuses. If an issue repeatedly returns to the same status, it could be due to changes in assignees or alterations in the issue's scope, which can disrupt workflows and warrant further examination.
• The duration issues are spent in each status when assigned to a particular user. This can provide insights into which assignees are most proficient at managing tasks.
• The length of time tasks remain in each status on specific dates. This feature allows you to assess a team's daily workload intensity and identify the days with the highest activity level.

Classical Time in Status report

Time in Status per Date report

Many more features exist, but we won't dwell on them for now. We also note that you can generate customized reports in addition to the usual ones using the Pivot table view.

Pivot table view

The app provides an analysis of the above metric. By forming status groups, you can calculate those time metrics based on issue transitions between statuses (Lead Time, Cycle Time, etc.). This is all about a thorough, in-depth analysis of your workflow. 

Now, let's move on to the Time Between Statuses app

Measuring Transition Time between issues is based on grouping statuses. Simply put, you must create a rule for considering the transition between issue statuses.

For example, to calculate Wait Time, you need to set the conditions: First transition from To do to First transition to In Progress. And for Resolution Time - First transition to Waiting for support to Last transition to Resolved. 

Status Group configuration

Creating a database of such Status Groups for each project allows you to track critical time-based KPIs and monitor your team's productivity in real time.

Report with measurable time-based metrics

Time Between Statuses is crucial in reducing Wait Time, Resolution Time, etc., and optimizing workflow for better performance. To leverage this tool effectively, teams should define clear workflow stages, set up rules, monitor wait times, track transitions over time, and use filters to focus on specific issues or issue types. Teams can significantly enhance their efficiency by combining Time Between Statuses with other metrics and continuously improving their workflow.

Takeaway

In conclusion, understanding the difference between Time in Status and Time Between Statuses is critical for optimizing workflow efficiency. While Time in Status helps identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in specific stages, Time Between Statuses provides insights into the overall flow of work, including wait times and handoffs. Using both metrics together can provide a comprehensive view of the workflow, enabling teams to make data-driven decisions for improvement. Leveraging tools like the Time in Status and Time Between Statuses apps can further enhance the analysis and monitoring of these metrics. To boost your team's productivity, start by defining clear workflow stages, setting up rules, and tracking these metrics in your projects today:

• 30-day trial for Time in Status app

• 30-day trial for Time Between Statuses app