How to calculate Cycle time in Jira precisely?

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Do you have any difficulties with tracking the Cycle time in Jira? It is an important metric for measuring the efficiency of a process or workflow. So it’s very important to have a clear view on how to do that properly. Cycle time is the time it takes for a task to move through the active statuses of your workflow (In Progress, Under Review, In development, Done, etc). Here’s an example of how to distinguish Cycle and Lead time:

How to calculate Cycle time easily?

We present Time in Status for Jira Cloud as a tool which helps to calculate Cycle time in a few simple steps. So you can save time and get necessary results in a minute. It is a useful tool as it allows you to track how long an issue has been in each status. This information allows you to generate the Cycle time report for each of your issues. Let’s go through the guide:

Step 1: Determine the start and end statuses

The first step in calculating Cycle time is to determine the start and end statuses for your workflow. For example, if you are tracking the cycle time for a software development project, your start status may be "In Progress" and your end status may be "Done."

Note! We don’t take into account the “To Do” status,  because it doesn’t refer to the Cycle time data.  

Step 2: Install and configure Time in Status for Jira Cloud

Next, you'll need to install the Time in Status for Jira Cloud app from the Atlassian Marketplace and configure it for your Jira instance. Once installed, you can access the add-on by opening the drop-down list with the add-ons directly on your Jira account.

 

Step 3: Set up Jira time in status tracking

To calculate Cycle time, you'll need to set up Jira time in status tracking for the start and end statuses you identified in step 1. To do this, go to the configuration page and create a new status group. Select the "In Progress" as a start status and “Done” as an end status. Name your group, e.g. “Cycle time”.

Step 4: Track the Jira time in status for the chosen statuses

Once the add-on is set up, you can start tracking the Jira time for your issues. As the issue moves through each status, the add-on will calculate the Jira time spent in status simultaneously. You can view this information in the Jira time report on the grid or Charts view.

Step 5: Analyze and improve

Finally, use the Jira Cycle time data to analyze and improve your workflow. Identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement, and make changes to reduce cycle time and increase efficiency. By attentive analysis, you can learn much insights on what can be wrong in your workflow process and fix it as soon as possible. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, calculating cycle time precisely with Time in Status for Jira Cloud is a convenient way to measure the efficiency of your workflows. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily track and analyze Cycle time data in a few clicks and enjoy the results directly in the add-on or export it to CSV or XLSX files for further deeper analysis.

Get a free 30-day trial version at the Atlassian Marketplace and leave your impressions about the add-on in the comments section.