How do I report on flow in Jira Align

[Ian.Bower]

I would like to report on flow times from one state to the next and overall flow time of Epics, Features and Stories in Jira Align relating to Themes. How can this be done at all levels (portfolio, program and team)?

[Kyle Foreman · Accepted solution]

Hi Ian,

Two reports come to mind. The first is the Work in Process report. It shows all work assigned to a selected Program Increment by work item State and includes a series of lean metric charts. For each work item type (Epics, Capabilities, Features, Stories), you can view the following:

• Work in Process: Line graph showing the number of items in process during the defined time period.
• Cumulative Flow: Stacked line graph showing the number of items in an In Progress state, layered against the number of items in an Accepted state during the defined time period.
• Lead Time: Line graph showing the average amount of days work items were in the In Progress state during the defined time period.
• Cycle Time: Line graph showing the average difference, in days, between the date the work items went into the In Progress state and the date they were moved to an Accepted state during the defined time period.

The second report is the Process Step Cycle Time report. If your organization is using Value Streams or custom States (Process Steps), for each work item type (Epics, Capabilities, Features, Stories), you can view the following:

• Value Stream Process Step Cycle Time: Bar graph showing the average time each process step of a value stream remains in a certain stage. In the top-right of the graph, the average time a work item remains in the value stream is displayed.
• Value Stream WIP: Bar graph showing the percentage of time that work items have remained in each process step. For example: during the selected data range, epics have been In Progress for 30% of the time. In the top-right of the graph, the average number of work items that are in the value stream for the target date range is displayed.
• Value Stream Detailed Throughput: Line graph showing overall average, completed work items as points, rolling average, and standard deviation of work items in the value stream at any given time

Let me know if either of these provide what you're looking for!

-Kyle

[ALEXIS La Joie]

The cumulative flow diagram (CFD) is a powerful way to visualize flow and bottlenecks. Apparently it is only available for the Work In Process Report. The Work In Process Report seems to be only at the Iteration (team) level, but not available to show across an entire PI? or for a Portfolio? Also, as we define our Kanbans at these levels with Process Steps more than Work In Process, it would be REALLY helpful to have a CFD that tracks against Process Steps for every Kanban. If there is a way to visualize CFD at every level of SAFe flow I have not found it in Jira Align. (I have seen it in other tools so I know it is possible).

[Sunny]

@ALEXIS La Joie It is not in JA. Shame. Hope they do have it in future

[Dean MacNeil]

Hi @ALEXIS La Joie

To see a portfolio-level cumulative flow diagram (CFD) for a given PI, do the following:

1. Select your portfolio in the configuration bar.
2. Navigate to the Work in Progress by State report.
3. Be sure that all programs are selected in the program select box, "select all" is selected from the team dropdown, and a PI is selected. 
4. Click on Lean Metrics near the top right of the workspace.
5. Select your work item level: epic, feature, or story. Your team-level selection, in this case, "select all," is pre-populated from your earlier selection. 
6. Scroll down to see the lean metrics for the entire portfolio for the PI, including the CFD.

To see a CFD for a given value stream or process flow, click on Step View near the top right of the workspace while viewing the Work in Progress by State report. However, note that there is currently a bug impacting this functionality. You can add yourself as a watcher to get updates on it here: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JIRAALIGN-3001

Hope this helps.