WIP is a leading indicator of cycle time. The more items that are worked on at the same time, the more doors open up that allow dependencies and interruptions to creep in. Trailing or lagging indicators are backward focused—they measure performance data already captured. Most metrics measured in technology and business, such as lead time (the elapsed time it takes to complete a request from the time it was first requested), cycle time, and throughput (the number of things completed over a period of time), are trailing indicators. That is, we don’t know how long certain things will take
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