A Cumulative Flow Diagram, or CFD, shows how work moves through a process over time. It is often used in agile software development and project management to keep track of how work is going and find problems or places where it could be better.
At a certain point in time, the CFD shows the amount of things (like user stories, jobs, or bugs) in each part of the process. Most of the time, the steps are shown on a grid as columns, where the number of things in each column changes over time.
The number of things is shown on the CFD’s vertical axis, while time is shown on the horizontal axis. Usually, the CFD has a line that shows the total number of things that have gone into the process and the total number of things that have gone through the process and left it. This line can help figure out where work is getting stuck or where there are bottlenecks.
Here are some things that a CFD usually has:
Each column shows a step in the process, like “To Do,” “In Progress,” or “Done.”
WIP Limits: Work-In-Progress (WIP) limits can be added to each area to make sure that too many things don’t pile up in one stage of the process.
Legend: If you want to explain what the colours or symbols in the image mean, you can add a legend.
Lead Time: The image can be used to figure out and show how long it takes for a thing to move through the whole process.
CFDs can be a useful way to see how work moves through a process and find places to make improvements. By keeping track of how work is going over time, teams can find problems, improve their process, and work more efficiently as a whole.
Key Points
– Visual Representation: It’s similar to a chart that depicts how work in a project progresses over time.
– Work Phases: Shows how tasks go through several stages or phases from start to conclusion.
– Work in Progress: Indicates how much work is being done at any one time.
– Performance Insights: Determines if tasks are progressing smoothly or becoming stalled at key stages.
– Identifying Bottlenecks: Identifies places where work may be piling up or slowing down, allowing teams to solve such issues.
