Kanban flow metrics: WIP, throughput, cycle time and SLE

Try 3 questions on this

Pick an answer to see why each option is right or wrong.

1. A sponsor asks a Kanban team for a weekly figure showing the exact number of work items the team finishes in each week. Which of the following flow metrics should the team report?

   Right. In the game that’s Renown for your People building.

   Not that one: B is right. In the game your People building would lose a little Renown, and this question would come back later.

   Your answerA.VelocityVelocity does not appear among the Kanban Guide's flow metrics; the guide's count of finished items is Throughput.The answerB.ThroughputThe Kanban Guide defines Throughput as the number of work items finished per unit of time, measured as an exact count of work items. A weekly count of finished items is Throughput.Your answerC.Lead TimeLead Time is not among the Kanban Guide's four mandatory flow metrics; the count the sponsor wants is Throughput.Your answerD.Cycle TimeCycle Time measures how long one item took from start to finish; the sponsor wants a count of items finished.

   Written from kanbanguides.org/the-kanban-guide/2025.5/

2. A Kanban team uses its past cycle times to tell a customer that 90% of requests should finish within twelve days of starting. Which of the following has the team set?

   Right. In the game that’s Renown for your People building.

   Not that one: A is right. In the game your People building would lose a little Renown, and this question would come back later.

   The answerA.A service level expectationThe Kanban Guide defines a service level expectation (SLE) as a forecast of how long a work item should take from started to finished, made of an elapsed time and a probability, based on historical cycle time.Your answerB.A Work Item Age limitWork Item Age measures time since an item started; the SLE is the reference it is compared with.Your answerC.A throughput targetThroughput is a count of items finished per period, not a time-and-probability forecast.Your answerD.A WIP controlWIP control limits work in progress; it does not forecast how long an item takes.

   Written from kanbanguides.org/the-kanban-guide/2025.5/

3. On a Kanban team, members keep disputing when an item may move from review into testing, because each applies a different rule. Which of the following should the project manager encourage the team to do?

   Right. In the game that’s Renown for your People building.

   Not that one: A is right. In the game your People building would lose a little Renown, and this question would come back later.

   The answerA.Agree an explicit policy for itThe Kanban Guide says the Definition of Workflow must include explicit policies about how work items flow through each state, and teams often add working agreements to it.Your answerB.Add a weekly flow reviewA meeting to review flow does not by itself give the team a shared rule.Your answerC.Have the project manager decideDeciding each case centrally leaves the rule unstated and the disputes continuing.Your answerD.Lower the WIP controlWIP control limits how many items are in progress; it does not say when one can move on.

   Show the full explanation and doc quotes

   An agreed, explicit policy for moving from review to testing replaces the members' differing private rules.

   Written from kanbanguides.org/the-kanban-guide/2025.5/