Lead Time Trend by Issue Type

Lead time — the time from when an issue is created to when it is first resolved — is one of the four key DORA metrics. Tracking how lead time changes over time, broken down by issue type, reveals whether specific categories of work are becoming slower (indicating increasing complexity, dependency, or process friction) or faster (indicating process maturity and team learning).

What you can conclude

• A rising lead time trend for Bugs indicates that defects are becoming harder to fix — either increasing complexity or insufficient debugging capacity.
• A falling lead time trend for Stories indicates that the team is getting better at delivering features — process maturity or better requirements.
• Diverging lead time trends between issue types (some improving, some worsening) point to type-specific process or capacity issues.

How this chart works

Multi-line chart showing weekly average lead time (days from creation to first terminal resolution) per issue type. Use the date and project filters to track specific teams or periods.