Cycle time is the total time a backlog item (like a story or bug) spends in the steps in the 'In progress' category of a team's workflow. In the default workflow, these steps are Design, Development, Test, and Review, but cycle time works the same way for customized workflows.

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How cycle time works

An item starts accumulating cycle time when it moves from a 'To do' step to an 'In progress' step and stops when it moves to a 'Done' step.

Items don't need to follow a linear path through the 'In progress' category. They can move back and forth between steps, skip steps, or even leave the category temporarily before returning. Cycle time is the cumulative time an item spends in 'In progress' steps for a specific team. Time spent outside this category—such as in 'To do' or 'Done' steps—doesn't count.

If an item leaves the 'In progress' category, cycle time pauses. When the item re-enters, tracking resumes. This ensures that only active work time is included in the calculation.

For teams with customized workflows, cycle time depends on how steps are categorized ('To do,' 'In progress,' or 'Done'. If the steps in these categories change, cycle time tracking adapts for future items but doesn't retroactively adjust previously tracked times.

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Cycle time is team-specific

Cycle time is tracked separately for each team. If a story or bug moves from one team's backlog to another, its cycle time for the new team starts at zero.

The cycle time displayed on the item reflects the team it's currently assigned to and is included in that team's Cycle time report. If the item is reassigned to a previous team, the cycle time shown reverts to the time accumulated when the item was last assigned to that team, and the team resumes tracking from that point forward.

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What's cycle time for?

Cycle time isn't designed track exact working hours for each item. Instead, it helps calculate the average cycle time for different types and sizes of workflow items, supporting long term planning and estimated completion dates. By factoring in non-working hours and weekends, average cycle time gives a realistic picture of how long work typically takes to complete.

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Cycle time isn't editable

Cycle time reflects how work naturally progresses, even if it includes time beyond active working hours. This helps product owners and managers make more accurate plans and estimates. You can exclude outliers from average cycle time calculations if needed.

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Unavailable cycle time

An item's cycle time may appear as 'Unavailable' or be hidden entirely for these reasons:

• The item hasn't entered any 'In progress' steps yet and is still in the 'To do' category.
• The item moved back into 'To do' after being 'In progress' and hasn't returned yet. Previously accumulated cycle time will reappear once it re-enters 'In progress'.
• Items in the 'Won't do' category do not display cycle time at all.

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Outliers

If an item's cycle time is unusually long, you can mark it as an outlier to exclude it from average cycle time calculations, cycle time reports, and staleness indicators.

Mark an item as an outlier

1. On a story or bug, click the ellipses (...) icon in the header.
2. Select Mark as an outlier.

Remove outlier status

If you accidentally mark an item as an outlier or change your mind, you can remove the outlier status to re-include it in calculations, reports, and staleness indicators.

1. On a story or bug, click the ellipses (...) icon in the header.
2. Select Remove outlier status.

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Cycle time report

Every team has a Cycle time report to visualize the average cycle times of stories and bugs over the past 1 to 60 months. You can adjust the timeframe, filter by item type (stories or bugs), and refine the data by story size.

On the Team overview page, click Cycle time report.

Interpret cycle time graphs

The graphs in the Cycle time report show the average cycle time for stories or bugs that moved into the 'Done' category on each day.

When you open the report, it defaults to showing Story cycle time for the last 3 months. You can:

• Switch between Story cycle time and Bug cycle time.
• Adjust the timeframe at the top of the graph.
• Hover over bars in the graph for detailed information.
• Filter the Story cycle time graph by story size.

Change the graph

Use the selector above the graph to select one of the following:

• Story cycle time
• Bug cycle time

Change the timeframe

Use the timeframe selector at the top of the graph to show data for the last 1 to 60 months. Adjust the number in the selector to update the view.

The graph resolution automatically adapts to the specified timeframe, displaying data by day, month, week, or quarter.

View data details

Hover over a bar in the graph to see a pop-up with details about the number of items moved into the 'Done' category on that day and their average cycle times. Use this to identify patterns, such as high activity days or longer cycle times, and find opportunities to improve your workflow.

Filter by story size

Use the filters below the Story cycle time graph to include or exclude data for specific story sizes. Unsized stories are grouped in their own category.