Manage Product Backlog Proactively
What Product Owners Need to Know About Product Lead Time and Cycle Time
Lead Time vs. Cycle Time:
Lead time and cycle time are two important metrics that product owners need to understand in order to manage their product backlog and prioritize features effectively.
Lead time is the time it takes to deliver a feature to the customer from the time it is first requested. It includes the time spent on all of the activities involved in delivering the feature, such as:
Requirements gathering
Design
Development
Testing
Deployment
Cycle time is the time it takes to complete a single iteration of the development process. It includes the time spent on all of the activities involved in delivering a feature from the time work begins on the feature to the time it is completed.
The difference between lead time and cycle time is that lead time includes the time spent waiting for activities to be completed, while cycle time does not. For example, if a feature is waiting for approval from a stakeholder, this time will be included in lead time but not cycle time.
Lead time and cycle time are both important metrics for product owners to track because they can help to identify areas where the product development process can be improved. For example, if lead time is long, it may indicate that there are bottlenecks in the process. If cycle time is long, it may indicate that the development team is not being efficient.
Product owners can use lead time and cycle time to help them to manage their product backlog and prioritize features effectively. For example, if a feature has a long lead time, it may be a good idea to prioritize it over a feature with a shorter lead time. This is because the feature with the longer lead time will have a bigger impact on the customer if it is delivered sooner.
Product owners can also use cost of delay techniques to help them to prioritize features. Cost of delay is the amount of money that a company loses by not delivering a feature sooner. Product owners can estimate the cost of delay for each feature and then prioritize the features with the highest cost of delay.
Here are some proactive suggestions to help product owners manage their product backlog and prioritize using the cost of delay techniques:
Track lead time and cycle time for each feature in your product backlog. This will help you to identify areas where the product development process can be improved.
Prioritize features with the highest cost of delay. This will help you to ensure that the features that have the biggest impact on the customer are delivered sooner.
Set clear deadlines for each feature in your product backlog. This will help to ensure that features are delivered on time.
Communicate with stakeholders regularly about the status of features in your product backlog. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there are no surprises.
By following these suggestions, product owners can manage their product backlog effectively and prioritize features that will have the biggest impact on the customer.