How do you analyze WIP limits and spot bottlenecks in Jira?

[Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet]

Hi there! 

I’m a product manager, and agile delivery management isn’t exactly my strongest side. My team sometimes overreaches WIP limits, and I want to figure out how I can go beyond just setting a limit.

👉 My goal:

• Analyze WIP usage for the past sprints, months, quarters, etc.

• Find bottlenecks in our flow

• Bring those insights into retrospectives for team discussion

I know Jira has project reports, dashboard gadgets, and apps, but I’m not sure what’s most effective for this purpose.

What kind of reports in Jira (native or add-ons) do you use, and where do you surface them (board, report, dashboard)?

How do you use those insights in retrospectives?

Do you adjust WIP limits, refine workflow policies, or run experiments based on what you find?

Thanks in advance -  I’m hoping to learn from your practical experience

[Bill Sheboy · Accepted solution]

Hi @Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet 

Short answer: for non-trivial team processes, there are limited features in Jira to manage and report flow and work in progress (WIP), and thus using marketplace apps may help fill those gaps...but first, pause to discuss and align with the team on why, what, and how to effectively manage flow and WIP.

Atlassian's built-in interpretation of a control chart can show WIP for simple workflows over a narrow window of time.  However, the chart's automatic rescaling of the y-axis, collapsing of multiple work items into bundles, incorrect handling of backward flow, incorrect handling of outliers, etc. render it essentially useless for anything other than a simple flow of [todo -> in progress -> done].  There are many marketplace apps which provide better reporting, and in my opinion, even manually tracking on paper / spreadsheet is better than the built-in report.

In my opinion, managing flow and WIP starts with the team aligning their understanding and expectations of their process.  This can be done with liftoff exercises to identify their customers, capabilities, purpose, goals, measures, targets, and accountability management to then identify "work item" types, classes of service, prioritization, intake, and eventually WIP, perhaps including a Value Stream Mapping exercise for context.  With aligned understanding, I find it easier for a team to visualize flow and manage WIP using daily, synchronous collaboration, using that information for periodic retrospection and for larger, annual deep dives to "refresh" their alignment.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet]

@Bill Sheboy Oh that’s super helpful! Great starting point for me. Appreciate such a detailed explanation. 

[Marc - Devoteam · Accepted solution]

Hi @Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet 

WIP limits can be set on a Kanban board, if more work items are set in column to column will be high-lighted

Also enable the Days in Status option on the board, this shows how long an issue has been in that status.

To identify bootle necks, show the board in your retro and ask questions why issues are in a status for that time, you might identify what is wrong in your teams flow and see how you and the team can make suggestions to improve

[Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet]

Thanks! Are you evaluating it on a sprint basis, or do you also perform monthly analyses? Do you use something else apart from board? I was told that having a WIP chart with some trendline in my Jira dashboard might be a good thing to monitor for me. But I mostly use a project board and see progress there.