Lead time histogram

Key features of the Lead time histogram

The Lead time histogram chart visualizes the distribution of work items based on their total lead times, from issue creation to completion. It groups issues into time-based bins (e.g., days, weeks, bi-weeks), allowing you to analyze delivery timelines at scale.

Lead time histogram for Jira helps to:

• Measure how long it typically takes for work to flow through the entire system
• Identify patterns in request-to-delivery timelines
• Spot irregularities, delays, and outliers in the process
• Define realistic, value-driven KPIs for lead time expectations

The Lead time histogram in Jira dashboard provides live insights into your delivery pipeline using your current Jira data. It includes detailed views of each work item’s full lifecycle, breakdowns by priority, epic, release, and more, plus flexible configuration options to align with your team’s lead time definition and workflows.

You can create multiple gadgets on the Jira Dashboard with the Agile Cycle Time Chart, similar to any other Broken Build apps for Jira.

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How do different roles use the Lead time histogram in Jira

✅ Scrum Master / Agile Coach: As a Scrum Master, I use a lead time histogram to foster continuous improvement through data-driven retrospectives. The chart helps highlight patterns of delay -whether in backlog refinement, prioritization, or during review stages - so the team can take targeted action.

✅ Product Manager: As a Product Manager, I use a Lead time histogram graph to evaluate how long customer requests take from intake to release. By comparing actual delivery times against expectations, I can prioritize work more effectively and improve forecast accuracy.

✅ Agile team: As an Agile team, we use the Lead time histogram report to visualize where time is lost between stages. Observing how long issues spend in review, QA, or handoff phases helps us identify bottlenecks that slow down delivery.

✅ Release Train Engineer (SAFe) / Program Manager: As a Program Manager, I use the Histogram of lead time in Agile to detect delivery variability before it risks milestone slippage. Having early visibility into which features or teams are trending late enables me to proactively escalate or reallocate resources.

Analyze the complete time from Idea to Production with the Lead Time Histogram!

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1. Key feature: Lead time histogram analysis across multiple teams

If you're managing several teams working within a program or Agile Release Train, adding them to the same Jira Dashboard Gadget is a powerful approach. This allows you to view aggregated lead time data across teams alongside individual team-specific charts for deeper comparisons:

In the Lead time histogram example above, the data is broken down by 1️⃣ Jira board (each representing a team) and 2️⃣ work item types. You can configure two-level breakdowns using any Jira field, such as priority, epic, release, component, and more, to match your reporting needs.

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2. Key feature: Request-to-delivery timeline highlights in Lead time histogram

When can a particular scope of work be delivered? By using the median, 85th percentile, or custom percentiles, you can understand how long it typically takes to turn an idea or requirement into a delivered product or solution:

From the chart above, you see that it takes between 8 and 12 weeks for Team Alpha to convert 85% of their backlog from idea to production.

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3. Key feature: Outlier analysis in Jira Lead time histogram

Drill down into individual work items to determine whether outliers are isolated errors or indicators of deeper process issues:

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4. Key feature: Configurable scope filtering in Lead time histogram

Just like the average rent across a city doesn’t tell you what to expect in a specific neighborhood, the average lead time for all work items doesn’t give meaningful insights:

• work item types (e.g., epics, stories, bugs)
• releases
• epics
• estimation fields (e.g., story points)
• projects, components, labels, JQL, etc.

What about the native Jira Lead time histogram report

Jira does not provide native support for the Lead time histogram in the Jira Dashboard.

With the Lead lime histogram in Agile Cycle Time Charts, you can:

• Add multiple lead time histogram gadgets to your Jira dashboards for side-by-side comparisons.
• Analyze lead time with the histogram chart to get both high-level summaries and detailed issue-level insights.
• Apply filters using any Jira field, including custom fields.
• Fine-tune the chart to reflect your team’s unique workflow and process stages.
• Use any data source - scrum or kanban boards, individual projects, saved JQL filters, and more.

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Advantages of using a Lead time histogram

• Supports a wide range of data sources, including Scrum and Kanban boards, all Jira project types (company-managed, team-managed, JSM, and Jira Product Discovery), and JQL filters.
• Available both as an interactive standalone report and as a Jira Dashboard gadget.
• Enables aggregation of data from multiple sources - ideal for teams working in a Scaled Agile (SAFe) environment.
• Uses live Jira data with no external BI tools or integrations required.
• Offers advanced filtering by initiative, epic, issue type, assignee, or any custom JQL query.

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Apps used in this Lead time histogram example

You can use examples to build your Lead time histogram chart gadget in the Jira Dashboard.

Both Jira apps (plugins) used in the examples have a 30-day free trial and are completely free for teams under 10 people:

Agile Cycle Time Chart Agile Reports and Gadgets

The Agile Reports and Gadgets app includes Lead time histogram reporting functionality and a multitude of other reports/charts.

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