What is Lead Time for Changes

Lead Time for Changes is one of the key metrics developed by the DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) organization to measure the performance of software development and delivery teams. It measures the time it takes for code changes to go from idea to production and includes all the steps in the software delivery process, from development to testing to deployment.

Lead Time for Changes indicates how long it takes to go from code committed to code successfully running in production.

Cycle Time and Lead Time are two related metrics used to measure the time it takes for work to move through a process.

Cycle Time measures the time it takes for one unit of work to be completed, from start to finish.

Lead Time, on the other hand, measures the time it takes for work to move through the entire process, from the moment it's requested to the moment it's delivered.

Interpreting Lead Time for Changes value

A low Lead Time for Changes is generally considered a positive indicator of a team's ability to deliver code changes quickly and efficiently. This can lead to faster feedback loops, increased agility, and improved customer satisfaction. However, a very low Lead Time for Changes may indicate that the team is sacrificing quality or stability for speed, which can result in instability and downtime.

Measure Lead Time for Changes according to Google’s Accelerate State of DevOps reports

According to Google’s Accelerate State of Devots reports 2022, performance can be evaluated in the following way:

1. Low: Lead Time for Changes is between one month and six months.

2. Medium: Lead Time for Changes is between one week and one month.

3. High: Lead Time for Changes is between one day and one week.

Lead Time for Changes in Agile Analytics

Agile Analytics allows you to track all 3 types of metrics: Lead Time for Changes, Cycle Time and Lead Time.