Cumulative flow diagram.

Cumulative flow diagrams show the statuses of all work items over time, which in turn illustrates lead time, cycle time, work-in-progress, and scope changes. Y-axis is amount of work and x-axis is time, with each color representing a work status. Consistent work delivery looks like thin lines of relatively similar size traveling the graph, converting backlog to completion. “To do” and “done” represent 100% of the height of a moment of time, and work-in-progress is the band between backlog and done. Cycle and lead time span horizontal sections. Scope increases can be seen in overall height increases. These analyses can be used to identify bottlenecks in process. Analysis of the chart is interested in how the bands react to each other over time.rN3


  1. Doc Norton, Escape Velocity: Better Metrics for Agile Teams (Leanpub, 2020), http://leanpub.com/escapevelocity. (See notes.)