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# Cycle Time vs Lead Time: What You Need to Know
- URL: https://sufimohamed.com/cycle-time-and-lead-time/
- Published: 2026-02-10T13:42:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-10T13:42:07.000Z
- Description: To improve cycle time, focus on streamlining your actual work processes. For lead time improvements, look at reducing delays between stages.
- Author: Sufi Mohamed
- Tags: Agility

Lead time is the total time from when a customer request is committed to until it is delivered. Cycle time is the elapsed time from when the team actually starts working on an item until it is finished (Anderson & Carmichael, 2016; Vacanti, 2015). Both are measured in calendar time, so both include any waiting that happens along the way.

## A simple example

A customer requests a new feature on Monday and the team commits to it the same day. Work starts on Thursday and the feature is delivered on Friday. The cycle time is two days (Thursday to Friday). The lead time is five days (Monday to Friday), because it also includes the three days the request waited before work began.

## Cycle time is not the same as “working time”

A common mistake is to treat cycle time as hands-on effort only. Once work has started, an item can still wait for a review, a test environment or a decision, and that waiting counts toward cycle time. The share of cycle time spent actively working is a separate measure called flow efficiency (Modig & Åhlström, 2012).

## How to use the two metrics

- **Lead time** answers the customer’s question: “When will I get it?” Shorten it by reducing queues before work starts and by limiting how much you commit to at once.
- **Cycle time** shows how smoothly work flows once started. Shorten it by limiting work in progress, removing blockers quickly and cutting hand-offs.

Track both consistently, record start and finish dates for every item, and review trends rather than single values.

## References

Anderson, D. J., & Carmichael, A. (2016). *Essential Kanban condensed*. Lean Kanban University Press.

Modig, N., & Åhlström, P. (2012). *This is lean: Resolving the efficiency paradox*. Rheologica Publishing.

Vacanti, D. S. (2015). *Actionable agile metrics for predictability: An introduction*. ActionableAgile Press.

## Related reading

- [Kanban Pull Criteria: The Simple Rule for Ready Work](https://sufimohamed.com/pull-criteria/)
- [Flow Efficiency: The Surprising Truth About Waiting](https://sufimohamed.com/flow-efficiency/)
- [Kanban Classes of Service: Prioritise Like an Expert](https://sufimohamed.com/service-classes/)

[More articles on Agility](https://sufimohamed.com/tag/agility/)