Last week, we explored how to use the Process Improvement Dashboard to monitor and respond to throughput signals. Now, let’s take it a step further by focusing on two other essential metrics: Work in Progress (WIP) and WIP Age.
These are, without a doubt, my most favorite metrics for one simple reason: they’re the only ones you can actually control. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that every other metric is simply a byproduct of how well you manage these two.
By understanding whether your WIP and WIP Age are stable, at risk, or trending toward becoming unstable, you can take proactive action before your process becomes unmanageable. These kinds of decisions directly impact your ability to make reliable delivery commitments without compromising the quality of your work.
How to Determine Your WIP and WIP Age Benchmarks
To start, the Process Improvement Dashboard analyzes your team’s historical performance data to establish benchmarks for WIP and WIP Age. These indicators define your process as stable by accounting for natural fluctuations in workflow. They provide the boundaries within which your workflow performs at its optimal capacity.
Your team can handle only a certain number of tasks at a time while remaining efficient. Similarly, the acceptable range for WIP Age represents the timeframe within which tasks should ideally be completed.
The sole purpose of WIP and WIP Age benchmarks is to help you recognize when your process is simply fluctuating (which is natural and not necessarily a problem) versus when there’s a real issue that needs attention before delivery delays start piling up.
How to Interpret WIP and WIP Age Signals Using the Process Improvement Dashboard
The Process Improvement Dashboard categorizes WIP and WIP Age signals into Stable, At Risk, and Unstable, each indicating a different state of your process. Here’s how to interpret each signal:
Unstable WIP and WIP Age Signals
Detecting a signal – a significant deviation from your typical process behavior – for either WIP or WIP Age suggests that your process is stretched beyond its limits, meaning it’s no longer stable.
When WIP Age is unstable, it means tasks have been in progress longer than expected, indicating that they’re not moving through the workflow as smoothly as they should.
At this point, your focus should be on the tasks that spent the most time in the process. Prioritizing these work items will enable you to bring the workflow back under control, allowing you to reduce WIP Age and get back on track.
Similarly, an unstable WIP count suggests that more tasks are in progress than usual, meaning that tasks are entering the workflow faster than they’re being completed.
This influx can overwhelm the team and lead to a slower overall delivery rate. Rather than starting new tasks, focus on moving forward with the ones already in progress—particularly those that are nearly complete.
Reducing WIP and eventually applying WIP limits will help avoid bottlenecks and improve the team’s ability to deliver results in a timely manner.
At-Risk WIP and WIP Age Signals
An At-Risk signal for WIP or WIP Age indicates that you’re approaching the upper threshold, where any further increase could disrupt your workflow.
This is the stage where proactive adjustments are crucial to prevent slipping into the unstable zone.
When WIP Age is at risk, it means several tasks have been in progress long enough that they’re close to exceeding the acceptable timeframe, typically within three days of reaching the upper threshold.
If no tasks are completed soon, your workflow could become unmanageable, making it unreliable to use methods like Monte Carlo to make delivery commitments.
It’s essential here to keep an eye on the tasks that have been in progress the longest and work to complete them before they become overdue. By doing so, you can keep the WIP Age within your stable range and avoid the need for reactive measures.
For WIP, an At-Risk signal suggests that your team is working at full capacity and is at the upper limit of their workload.
Any additional tasks could add pressure, slowing down their productivity. This is the point at which your team should refrain from starting new work until some tasks have moved out of the workflow.
Focusing on completing nearly finished tasks will create capacity without overwhelming the team, ensuring that the workload remains balanced and sustainable.
Stable WIP and WIP Age Signals
If your WIP or WIP Age is stable, this indicates that your process is running smoothly and staying well within expected performance benchmarks.
When WIP Age is stable, tasks are moving through your process at a consistent pace.
This indicates that your team is handling tasks within the process limits. In this situation, maintaining your current management practices is the best approach, as it provides a solid foundation for making reliable delivery commitments.
Similarly, a stable WIP count suggests that your team’s workload is balanced, with tasks moving through the process efficiently and without excessive multitasking.
When WIP is stable, consider preparing the next set of backlog tasks for the team to start as they complete their current work. This approach helps the team maintain momentum while managing an efficient flow of work.
Whether your flow metrics are stable, unstable or at risk is pretty much beside the point. The most important thing is to stay on top of it and make proactive (rather than reactive!) decisions to keep improving the way you work.
I hope this guide has been helpful! See you next Thursday, same time and place for more managerial goodness. Bye for now!
