Free tool
Cycle time calculator
Work out how long a card took from start to finish, the average cycle time for your board, or the spread across a list of cards. Nothing to sign up for, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
How it's worked out
- One card: the days from the start date to the finish date. Started Monday and finished Wednesday is 2 days
- Working days leave out the Saturdays and Sundays in between
- Your board's average: cards in progress, divided by cards finished per week, times 7 days, or 5 for working days
- A list: the average, the median, and the 85th percentile, the time 85% of cards finished within
Reading the numbers
- The 85th percentile is the most useful for promises: "85% of cards finish within 6 days" is something you can plan around
- A median well below the average means a few slow cards are dragging the average up. Look at those cards
- The fastest way to bring cycle time down is to start less at once. See WIP limits
- Cycle time runs from start to finish; lead time from request to finish. See cycle time vs lead time
Questions
About cycle time
What is cycle time?
The time a piece of work takes from the moment someone starts it to the moment it's finished. On a kanban board, that's usually from entering In Progress to entering Done.
How do you calculate cycle time?
For one card, count the days from its start date to its finish date. For a board on average, divide the cards in progress by the cards finished per week, then multiply by 7, or by 5 for working days. That's Little's Law.
Should I count weekends?
Count them if work can happen any day, or if you're measuring what a customer waits. Leave them out if your team only works Monday to Friday. Either way, use the same rule every time so the numbers compare.
What is the 85th percentile?
The time within which 85% of cards finished. It's more useful than the average for promises, because a few very slow cards don't distort it.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to craaft or anyone else.
Track it on a board
Every craaft card records when it moved between columns, with the date of each move. Free for 3 projects, with no credit card to enter.