Metrics in agile project management are one of the key aspects that have changed the way knowledge work teams measure the progress of their projects.
Agile metrics are outcome-related performance indicators that enable teams to reflect on their processes and make data-driven decisions for future actions.
To begin our discussion of agile project metrics, let's first look at how they differ from traditional metrics.
Traditional vs Agile KPIs
The main difference between traditional and agile performance metrics is that the former focuses on output and the latter on outcomes. Many traditional project management KPIs can cause project management teams at all levels to take the wrong actions.
For example:
- Quality is measured by the number of documented requirements rather than working with customers to determine if they are happy with the results.
- Productivity and progress are measured only by tracking planned hours versus baseline, without considering the team's actual skills.
- Performance is measured by how fast you can deliver, even when those are the wrong things.
Traditionally, when it comes to the highly volatile world of knowledge work, measuring metrics doesn't help teams complete projects faster, but it can increase the pressure.
For this reason, the widespread assumption ofagile project managementnew agile metrics for reporting have emerged. They are designed to help you analyze and better understand your workflow, identify gaps and improve, so your team can focus on customer satisfaction through continuous value creation.
How to use the 6 agile metrics to drive work delivery?
lead and cycle time
Lead and Cycle Time are two essential Agile project metrics that have their origins inLean managementWorld. Both show how much time work items spend on a specific process. However, there is also a clear distinction between them.
Lead time shows the total time (including lead time) that a work item spends in the entire process from request to delivery.
To give a small example of this agile metric, let's assume that a customer has requested a service or functionality from you for development. From the moment you commit to delivering the specified service/resource, the lead time starts accumulating even if you haven't started working on it yet. A simple way to think of lead time is the “customer timeline”.
In Agile, the cycle time starts accumulating as soon as you start working on the requested item. In other words, cycle time is a measure of how many hours/days someone actively worked on a task to complete it. This allows you to track the duration of all work items in a project and ultimately use that as input to make better predictions for project completion. Unlike lead time, you can think of cycle time as a “team timeline.”
tracking theLead Metrics and Cycle TimeWith the help of a Kanban board, this is very easy. You can view when a work item is committed to execution and when the actual work begins. This is usually done with the Ready to Launch/Requested and In Progress/Processing columns in yourQuadro-Kanban, as seen in the picture below.
Throughput and throughput time visualization on a Kanban board
transfer rate
In Agile, throughput measures the average number of work items processed per unit of time.
For example, in a kanban system, since work is visualized on cards, throughput is measured by how many kanban cards are processed in a given period (weekly, monthly, etc.)
It's worth mentioning here that many teams believe that throughput is practically another Agile word for productivity. Although they are very close, throughput measures how many work items teams can complete in a given period of time, while productivity is more related to efficiency.
In general, throughput is one of the most important agile performance metrics. It provides detailed information about your team's actual capabilities, allowing you to better plan how much work you can accomplish in a given time frame. The combination of average throughput and cycle time can become the secret weapon for any team looking to improve project delivery predictability.
Formeasure yieldof your team week by week you can use the Performance Run Chart. There you can see how many work items teams can complete, analyze their average throughput, and use that as input for future planning activities.
Visualizing throughput metrics using a throughput run chart in Kanbanize
Work in progress (WIP)
Work in progress is another of the most important agile metrics. Work In Progress shows how many work items you currently have "in progress" in your work process.
WIP is a crucial agile KPI to track as any unfinished work represents sunk costs. This also leads to multitasking, which hurts team performance.
For this reasonagile TeamsTry to limit the work in progress, which ensures that work started is completed as quickly as possible, thus increasing the team's throughput. Limiting the work in progress has a positive effect on the cycle time and reduces it.
The best tool for visualizing WIP is the Kanban board. There you can also set appropriate limits for your work steps to ensure that each Kanban column can only contain a certain number of tasks.
View WIP limits on a Kanban board
This allows you to focus your attention on the most critical tasks and ensure you bring value to market more often.
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work item age
Work item age (work in progress aging) is the amount of time that has elapsed between the start of a work item and its current time.
This agile project metric is a leading indicator relevant only to uncompleted work items. It complements cycle time, which is a convenient metric for completed work items.
The work item age metric has two main uses – first, it shows how your current items are performing, and second, it gives you a clear idea of how you have fared in similar contexts in the past.
Measurement of work-in-progress agingThis is critical in a knowledge work environment as it allows you to see your tasks progressing in your workflow. This shows which stages of process tasks are most common and how long, on average, emerging work items are expected to age.
By combining this information with cycle time data, you can make valuable data-driven decisions to optimize your workflow and better meet your customers' delivery expectations.
To visualize all this information, you can use a powerful measurement tool called a work-in-progress-by-aging chart.
Visualize work in progress using the Aging Work in Progress chart in Kanbanize
flow efficiency
Another very important metric for Agile projects is flow efficiency.It shows how efficiently you can get the job done from start to finish.
ForCalculate flow efficiency, you need to divide the value-added time by the total hours worked, including periods when no active work is being done.
This agile metric works perfectly in a Kanban system, where you can visualize the active and non-active phases of your process. For example, in Kanbanize, we mark non-active stages as "queues" on our Kanban boards, meaning the work there is idle and dependent on someone/something.
Using the flow efficiency chart, our teams enter active and queued stages to monitor how efficiently they are handling work on a regular basis. This allows you to identify problems quickly and fix them as quickly as possible.
Using the Flow Efficiency Graph in Kanbanize to visualize workflow efficiency
blocked time
Since everything is visible in an agile environment, the work that for some reason cannot be moved must also be visible. For example, in a kanban system, such items are marked with a “block” sticker.
Blocked work item on a kanban board
A suspended card usually means that a task is waiting for an unforeseen event or dependency that prevents the assignee from continuing with the work.
A blocked card on the Kanban board signals all team members that the work item at hand requires immediate attention to resolve the blocker. Therefore, tracking blocked time is a valuable agile metric.
To measure blocked time, we use the block clustering chart in Kanbanize. It shows the most common blockers in your process and how long certain blockers have been hampering your work. Regularly monitoring the chart allows you to measure the impact of your process impediments so you can gradually mitigate them and as a result optimize your process.
Analyzing process blockers using the blocker clustering chart in Kanbanize
Kumulatives Flussdiagramm (Bonus)
The Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) is not a metric. However, it is one of the best Agile tools to measure:
- lead time and cycle time
- transfer rate
- in progress
These are all agile flow metrics that we discussed above.
CFD is a graphical representation of your WIP flow in a Kanban system. With the help of this chart, you can understand the status of your work in progress and analyze the stability of your workflow - the input and output rate of your work items.
What you see in a CFD are colored blocks that represent the work steps on your board, and the width of these blocks represents the number of cards on it.
Cumulative flowchart visualizing workflow stages, average cycle time, and number of work items in progress
Ökumulatives Flussdiagrammprovides clear visual signals where process bottlenecks can form. With this overview, you can explore why they came about and how you can improve your workflow.
In summary
Agile metrics help you analyze and understand your workflow, spot gaps, and improve so your team can focus on:
- with satisfied customers
- in continuous value creation
- in eliminating wasteful activities
FAQs
What are the 6 steps in the agile methodology? ›
- Project planning. ...
- Product roadmap creation. ...
- Release planning. ...
- Sprint planning. ...
- Daily stand-ups. ...
- Sprint review and retrospective.
Summary: Agile metrics provide insight into productivity through the different stages of a software development lifecycle. This helps to assess the quality of a product and track team performance.
What metrics should be used to measure the performance of the team in agile? ›- Predictability (measured by the Planned-to-Done ratio)
- Productivity (measured by cycle length)
- Quality (measured by the Escaped Defect Rate)
- Stability (measured by happiness metric)
- Removing Impediments. ...
- Using Metrics with Responsibility. ...
- Teaching the principles of self-management. ...
- Adopting New Practices and tools. ...
- Aligning with leadership, sharing knowledge and experience. ...
- Introduce Acceptance criteria for User Stories and conduct workshops for coding.
Scrum is underpinned by six principles: Empirical Process Control, Self-Organization, Time-Boxing, Value-Based Prioritization, Iterative Development, and Collaboration.
What is one of the six steps in the problem-solving workshop Agile? ›- Agree on the Problem(s) to Solve. ...
- Perform Root Cause Analysis. ...
- Identify the Biggest Root Cause. ...
- Restate the New Problem. ...
- Brainstorm Solutions. ...
- Create Improvement Backlog Items.
- Performance criteria. ...
- Measuring performance. ...
- Performance appraisal interviews. ...
- Employee Feedback. ...
- Employee record. ...
- HR management involvement and decisions.
Here are a few benefits of tracking Agile metrics:
Nurture self-management in team members. Foster continuous improvement for the team. Help teams focus their work on delivering value to end users. Speed up delivery time for products and projects.
Another one of the highly important Agile project metrics is flow efficiency. It shows you how efficiently you can process work from start to finish. To calculate flow efficiency, you need to divide the value-added time by the total work time, including stages where no active work is done.
What is the most important agile metric? ›The most commonly used metrics to track agile team performance is time and tasks. Time is plotted on the x-axis while tasks are plotted on the y-axis, the sprint burndown is measured in either hours or story points. It helps forecast whether the sprint will be completed in time or not.
What metrics have you used to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of a team? ›
Some general examples of team metrics include employee satisfaction, cost efficiency, project scope / requirements, project quality, team velocity, burndown, project cycle time, tasks completed, and number of work in progress tasks.
Which are the top agile metrics? ›- Sprint Burndown. ...
- Agile Velocity. ...
- Lead Time. ...
- Cycle Time. ...
- Code Coverage. ...
- Static Code Analysis. ...
- Release Net Promoter Score. ...
- Cumulative Flow.
- Take breaks. ...
- Establish realistic goals. ...
- Measure your time. ...
- Commit to deadlines. ...
- Concentrate on your task. ...
- Create a routine. ...
- Design a relaxing work environment. ...
- Develop a healthy balance between work and personal life.
- Diversify your team. ...
- Lead with gratitude, and share yours regularly. ...
- Be authentic and vulnerable. ...
- Prioritize well-being. ...
- Clarify each person's role. ...
- Prioritize, ruthlessly. ...
- Communicate with context. ...
- Make the daily workflow more efficient.
You can improve work efficiency by setting compelling goals, learning how to manage your time and developing thoughtful habits. To learn more about achieving professional success and further mastering work efficiency, attend Business Mastery.
What are the top 5 agile principles? ›- Early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
- Embrace change.
- Frequent delivery.
- Cooperation.
- Autonomy and motivation.
- Better communication.
- Working software.
- Stable work environments.
Four values of Agile
individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; and. responding to change over following a plan.
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation.
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
- Responding to change over following a plan.
- Step One: Define the Problem. Step One is about diagnosing the problem – the context, background and symptoms of the issue. ...
- Step Two: Determine the Root Cause(s) of.
- Step Three: Develop Alternative Solutions. ...
- Step Four: Select a Solution. ...
- Step Five: Implement the Solution. ...
- Step Six: Evaluate the Outcome.
- Step 1: Identify and define the problem. State the problem as clearly as possible. ...
- Step 2: Generate possible solutions. ...
- Step 3: Evaluate alternatives. ...
- Step 4: Decide on a solution. ...
- Step 5: Implement the solution. ...
- Step 6: Evaluate the outcome.
What is the six step model? ›
The Six Steps
Define the Problem. Determine the Root Cause(s) of the Problem. Develop Alternative Solutions. Select a Solution. Implement the Solution.
- Performance Issues. This is where the manager describes ways the employee has not performed the job as well as he could have. ...
- Employee Expectations. ...
- Employee Actions. ...
- Manager Actions. ...
- Consequences. ...
- Signature.
- The system must be accurate and fair. ...
- The system must be efficient. ...
- The system should elevate performance; not just measure against lower limits. ...
- Compensation decisions should be a by product of performance management. ...
- The system should use multiple data sources.
- Manage expectations in advance. Create an agenda so your employees understand what to expect. ...
- Ask how they are doing. ...
- Be specific and constructive in your feedback. ...
- Help them grow. ...
- Show what opportunities might exist. ...
- Ask reverse questions.
- Value: Are we meeting the customer's needs?
- Predictability: The ability to plan and deliver.
- Productivity: Getting more done in the same time or with the same resources.
- Quality: A product free of defects and issues.
Performance metrics are data used to track processes within a business. This is achieved using activities, employee behavior, and productivity as key metrics. These metrics are then used by employers to evaluate performance. This is in relation to an established goal such as employee productivity or sales objectives.
What is the importance of using metrics in performance management? ›Performance metrics are integral to an organization's success. It's important that organizations select their chief performance metrics and focus on these areas because these metrics help guide and gauge an organization's success. Key success factors are only useful if they are acknowledged and tracked.
How do you explain efficiency and effectiveness? ›Efficiency is defined as the ability to accomplish something with the least amount of wasted time, money, and effort or competency in performance. Effectiveness is defined as the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result; success.
What are examples of efficiency? ›Example Sentences
Because of her efficiency, we got all the work done in a few hours. The factory was operating at peak efficiency. A furnace with 80 percent fuel efficiency wastes 20 percent of its fuel. The company is trying to lower costs and improve efficiencies.
While efficiency refers to how well something is done, effectiveness refers to how useful something is. For example, a car is a very effective form of transportation, able to move people across long distances, to specific places, but a car may not trasport people efficiently because of how it uses fuel.
How do you measure productivity in agile? ›
- Lead time. Development teams track lead time to measure the efficiency of a production process. ...
- Cycle time. ...
- Velocity. ...
- Sprint burndown. ...
- Cumulative flow diagram. ...
- Code coverage. ...
- Static code analysis. ...
- Failed deployments.
Quality and satisfaction: Quality and satisfaction metrics measure the quality of the project's deliverable at its completion and include customer-centric data. Cost: Cost metrics are key performance metrics to track in project management.
How do you use metrics to measure and improve performance? ›- Base your metrics on a sound understanding of your service's purpose.
- Define goals, or 'benefits', for your service.
- Develop hypotheses based on your benefits.
- Decide what to measure based on your hypotheses.
- Find data sources for your measurements.
- Collect and analyse data.
- Peak Hour Traffic. Every company must keep track of when the most significant volumes of inbound traffic arrive. ...
- First Response Time (FRT) This KPI measures how long it takes for a customer to connect with an agent. ...
- Call Abandonment Rate (Average) ...
- Calls Handled. ...
- Call Arrival Rate.
Productivity is often measured using numbers, such as selling or producing a certain number of widgets, or making a certain number of sales calls. Efficiency Metrics. This is a companion to productivity, measuring how much effort and/or expense is required for an employee to maximize productivity.
What are the 7 metrics? ›CVH metrics were defined according to the American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 metrics based on smoking, diet, physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting glucose.
What are the 4 basic metrics? ›- The four key metrics are used in different types of organizations. ...
- Accelerate metrics focus on the global outcome, as opposed to massive output. ...
- Deployment Frequency (DF) ...
- Lead Time to Changes (LTTC) ...
- Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR) ...
- Change Failure Rate (CFR)
In the first part of this blog post series on metrics, we've reviewed the four types of Prometheus metrics: counters, gauges, histograms, and summaries.
What are top 3 ways to improve on performance at work? ›...
Top 3 ways to improve work performance
- Limit distractions. ...
- Split your tasks into milestones. ...
- Stop multitasking, prioritize your work.
Using components with lower resistance. Lowering the current to reduce the amount of heat produced.
How to improve work efficiency and increase employee motivation? ›
- Encourage Learning Opportunities. ...
- Provide Employees with Technology. ...
- Emphasize Company Culture. ...
- Strengthen Communication Protocols. ...
- Identify and Align Goals with Performance.
- Clarify expectations of good performance. ...
- Explain consequences of poor performance. ...
- Monitor performance and provide specific feedback. ...
- Provide advice for improvement. ...
- Give them time to improve. ...
- Follow through on your consequences.
One of the best ways of becoming more effective at work is to learn how to manage your time more efficiently. Other key areas include learning how to manage stress, improving your communication skills, and taking action on career development. All of these can have a major impact on your effectiveness at work.
What are 7 strategies for improving staff performance? ›- Track Individual Progress. Get to know your employees inside out. ...
- Set SMART Goals. ...
- Empower Your Employees. ...
- Reward High Performance. ...
- Foster a Positive Working Environment. ...
- Increase Job Satisfaction. ...
- Encourage Regular Communication.
- Automate Operations. One of the best ways to boost efficiency is to automate as many tasks as possible. ...
- Delegate and Consolidate Tasks. ...
- Improve Time Management. ...
- Look for Outsourcing Opportunities. ...
- Listen to Your Team. ...
- Never Stop Improving.
- Determination. ...
- Self-confidence. ...
- Persistence. ...
- Managing stress. ...
- Problem-solving skills. ...
- Creativity. ...
- Generating ideas.
The five different phases of the Agile Project Management framework include the envision phase, the speculate phase, the explore phase, the adapt phase, and the close phase.
What are the 5 lifecycle steps of an agile project? ›The beauty of Agile is realized throughout a series of five stages, known as the software development lifecycle (SDLC): Ideation, development, testing, deployment, and operations.
What are the 5 important types of Agile methodology? ›There are 5 main Agile methodologies: Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Lean Development e Crystal.
What are the 3 C's in Agile? ›The three Cs stand for Card, Conversation and Confirmation and in this article, I'm going to discuss each of the elements, explaining why, and how to ensure you're doing it right. I'll also scatter in a few tips from my experiences with agile teams.
What are the 4 pillars of Agile? ›
- 1: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
- 2: Working software over comprehensive documentation.
- 3: Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
- 4: Responding to change over following a plan.
Four values of Agile
individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; and. responding to change over following a plan.
As you can see with the below headings, there are six phases: data creation, data storage, data use, data sharing, data archiving, and data destruction.
What are the six phases of lifecycle? ›There are usually six stages in this cycle: requirement analysis, design, development and testing, implementation, documentation, and evaluation.
What are the 6 phases of program development life cycle? ›While each development company may use a slightly different software process, each have at least 6 stages in common: planning, designing, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
What are 3 examples of agile methods? ›Examples of Agile Methodology. The most popular and common examples are Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP), Feature Driven Development (FDD), Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Adaptive Software Development (ASD), Crystal, and Lean Software Development (LSD).
What is the most important in Agile process? ›According to the Agile Manifesto, the more important values are individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change. Agile organizations use processes and tools, appropriate documentation, contracts, and plans to support the more important values.
What is the most important Agile practice? ›1) Working in Sprints (or Short Iterations of Work)
Organizing your work into manageable, iterative segments of both time and complexity is the most important element of the Agile process.
Agile is an approach to software development that seeks the continuous delivery of working software created in rapid iterations. However, the phrase "agile methodology" is misleading because it implies that agile is a singular approach to software development.
What is Agile explained simply? ›At its simplest, Agile simply means continuous incremental improvement through small and frequent releases. The term Agile is most commonly associated with software development as a project management methodology.
What is agile method of working? ›
Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches. Instead of betting everything on a "big bang" launch, an agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments.