One Metric to Rule them All: Cycle Time
summary
Argues that if only one metric is tracked it should be Cycle Time, measured end‑to‑end across coding pickup review deploy phases. Uses LinearB-style dashboards plus rule‑based automation that surfaces stuck pull requests and posts alerts to team chat. Claims customers cut median cycle time by 50–75% (some achieve ~1 day or less, up to 4x faster). Built realtime insight + automated nudges and reports, and customer data shows it materially shortens delivery and reduces work‑in‑progress.
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chapters (15)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:17Cycle time matters for DevOps
- 3:01Traps in measuring work
- 5:51Productivity killers in dev
- 8:18What is cycle time
- 11:27Cycle time segments
- 16:03Improve coding efficiency
- 20:35Reduce pickup time
- 23:25Optimize review process
- 27:16Streamline deployment
- 29:04Benefits of reducing cycle time
- 33:19Real-world improvements
- 35:47Why measuring alone isn’t enough
- 38:32From metrics to insights
- 41:42Summary and next steps
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