/
Issue Time in State

Issue Time in State

Owned by Shir Koretski
Jan 09, 2025
5 min read

Overview

Tracking Issue Time in State helps visualize the duration an issue spends in each phase of the workflow. This metric is crucial for detecting potential bottlenecks, understanding the efficiency of each workflow phase, and predicting when issues will progress through their states. By analyzing trends over time, teams can gain actionable insights to optimize their processes and avoid delays.

Description

Issue Time in State measures the amount of time an issue remains in a specific state (e.g., "In Progress," "QA," "Product Review") within the development workflow. It displays this data over time, helping teams track how long issues are spent in each state and identify areas where delays might be occurring. This information is particularly useful for team leads, product owners, or workflow managers who are responsible for specific stages of the process, such as QA or Product Review. By monitoring this metric, you can detect patterns of inefficiency and take proactive measures to streamline processes and reduce cycle times.

How is Issue Time in State Calculated?

Issue Time in State is calculated by measuring the time an issue spends in each defined state of the workflow. Here’s how it's done:

  1. Track state changes: When an issue transitions from one state to another (e.g., from "In Progress" to "QA"), the system records the timestamp of both transitions.

  2. Calculate the duration: The time spent in each state is determined by subtracting the timestamp of when the issue entered the state from the timestamp of when it exited the state.

  3. Plot on a line chart: Each state’s time is then plotted on a line chart, where the X-axis typically represents time (e.g., weeks, sprints) and the Y-axis represents the average time issues have spent in that state.

How It's Generated

This metric is a measure of the average or median time it takes an issue to enter/move out of a state. The chart defaults to average but we recommend aggregating the data by median in case of skewed data distribution by outliers.

Questions You Can Answer with Issue Time in State

  • Where are the bottlenecks in our workflow?
    By tracking how long issues stay in each state, you can pinpoint stages where delays occur, whether it's during development, QA, or review. This helps in prioritizing areas for improvement.

  • Which stages are causing the most delays?
    Visualizing time in each state helps identify which stages take longer than expected, providing insight into which part of the workflow needs attention (e.g., does QA require more resources or better automation?).

  • Are there specific teams or owners facing delays in certain states?
    If you own a particular phase of the workflow (e.g., QA, Product Review), the line chart will show how your state is trending over time, enabling you to identify if delays are increasing and why.

Key Takeaways from Issue Time in State

  • Identifying Bottlenecks: The line chart is an effective way to spot stages where issues spend an excessive amount of time, signaling potential workflow bottlenecks. Early detection allows for timely interventions.

  • Team and Workflow Performance Insights: Analyzing issue time in state provides valuable insights into team performance and workflow efficiency. It highlights which stages might need more resources or process changes to speed up resolution.

  • Impact of Process Changes: By tracking time in each state before and after process improvements or tool changes, teams can measure the real impact of those adjustments on efficiency.

  • Predicting Issue Completion: By understanding how long issues typically spend in each state, teams can predict issue completion times more accurately and set more realistic expectations for project timelines.

 General Filters

 Use these filters to narrow down the information you want to see. After making any updates, make sure you click ‘update’ to have the changes reflected on the chart below.

 Issues Moved Between: For this metric, we recommend using monthly or greater. To visualize change over time, use at minimum, the quarterly date range. 

Descendants of: Limit the data by JIRA or ADO projects. You can also filter by project or repo. 

  • Issues Assigned to: You can narrow down your search by tag labels as well as specific individuals.

 

  • Advanced Filters: Filter your data using fields and properties located in your project management tool (e.g. JIRA, ADO). Make sure to remove ‘Inactive’ issue states.

TIP: Make sure to apply the changes you made to General Filters by clicking ‘Update’.

Chart Settings

You can use chart settings to format how the chart displays your data.  This is powerful when it comes to creating data visualizations to support the story you’re trying to tell.

Advanced Settings

Include people on my team who are not currently assigned to cards (ex. Product/QA teams)

View statuses that are relative to my team’s process

Enable the specific series items (ex. Specific statuses that are relative to your team process). When you save this metric to your dashboard, it will save with the selected series visible.

Conclusion

Issue Time in State is a powerful metric for tracking the efficiency of your development process. You can quickly identify bottlenecks, optimize workflows, and make data-driven decisions that improve project timelines. Whether you're a team lead, project manager, or QA owner, this metric provides valuable insights into your process, helping to boost productivity and improve delivery times.