Day 24 / 100 · Kanban & flow · Cycle time vs lead time

Fast for you. Slow for them.

Cycle time measures how fast the team works. Lead time measures how long the customer waits. They can tell very different stories.

Customer asks

Started

Work begins

Done

Meets Definition of Done

Delivered

Customer has it

Lead time: what the customer feels

Cycle time

Customers feel lead time. Teams control cycle time.