Skill

Skill: flow-metrics

Measure and improve delivery flow using Cycle Time, Lead Time, Throughput, and WIP — the four core flow metrics for any delivery team.

Install

npx claudepluginhub devmuslim/pdm-skills --plugin pdm-agile-delivery

Tool Access

This skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.

Preview

Measure and improve delivery flow using Cycle Time, Lead Time, Throughput, and WIP — the four core flow metrics for any delivery team.

SKILL.md

Similar Skills

ui-ux-pro-max

Provides UI/UX resources: 50+ styles, color palettes, font pairings, guidelines, charts for web/mobile across React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Tailwind, React Native, Flutter. Aids planning, building, reviewing interfaces.

ui-ux-pro-max

57.6k

context7-mcp

Fetches up-to-date documentation from Context7 for libraries and frameworks like React, Next.js, Prisma. Use for setup questions, API references, and code examples.

context7-plugin

51.8k

startup-financial-modeling

Builds 3-5 year financial models for startups with cohort revenue projections, cost structures, cash flow, headcount plans, burn rate, runway, and scenario analysis.

startup-business-analyst

32.9k

Stats

Parent Repo Stars0

Parent Repo Forks0

Last CommitMar 9, 2026

Actions

View Source View Plugin View on GitHub View README

Skill: flow-metrics

Purpose

Measure and improve delivery flow using Cycle Time, Lead Time, Throughput, and WIP — the four core flow metrics for any delivery team.

When to Use

Monthly delivery review
When delivery feels slow but cause is unclear
When moving from output metrics (velocity) to outcome metrics (flow)

Framework: Flow Metrics

The Four Flow Metrics

1. Cycle Time Definition: Time from "work started" to "work done" Measures: How fast the team executes once work begins Target: < 3 days for stories, < 1 day for bugs

2. Lead Time Definition: Time from "request created" to "work done" Measures: End-to-end responsiveness including wait time Target: < 2 weeks for features, < 5 days for bugs

3. Throughput Definition: Number of items completed per sprint/week Measures: Team output rate Target: Stable or improving trend

4. WIP (Work In Progress) Definition: Number of items actively in progress at any time Measures: Multi-tasking and focus Target: WIP ≤ team size (ideally WIP ≤ team size × 0.5)

Step 1 — Gather Data

Ask for Jira/Azure DevOps export or manual data:

Item ID, start date, completion date, type (story/bug/task)

Step 2 — Calculate Metrics

Metric	Formula	Last Period	Trend
Avg Cycle Time	Sum of (done - started) / count	X days	↗/→/↘
Avg Lead Time	Sum of (done - created) / count	X days	↗/→/↘
Throughput	Items completed / weeks	X items/week	↗/→/↘
Avg WIP	Daily WIP snapshots averaged	X items	↗/→/↘

Step 3 — Flow Efficiency

Flow Efficiency = Active Time / Lead Time × 100%

40%: Good flow
15–40%: Typical, room to improve
< 15%: High wait time — investigate queues

Step 4 — Diagnosis

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
High lead time, low cycle time	Long wait in queue	Reduce batch size, limit WIP
High cycle time	Work is too large or complex	Split stories, improve specs
Low throughput	Too much WIP, blockers	WIP limits, blocker triage
Declining flow efficiency	Process overhead	Remove unnecessary approvals

Output Format

Metrics table with trend indicators
Flow efficiency score
Top 2 improvement recommendations
Suggested next command: /delivery-report or /wip-limits