Bottleneck Tracking

Visualize work accumulation across pipelines to spot workflow problems and process improvements.

Bottleneck Tracking helps you visualize how work flows through your team's pipelines over time, showing where issues accumulate and create workflow bottlenecks. This report tracks work in progress and workflow stability, helping you identify process improvement opportunities regardless of your development methodology.

Accessing the report

Navigate to Reports in the left sidebar and select Bottleneck Tracking. Use the date range selector to choose your analysis period. Available filters include repository and labels.

Reading the visualization

Bottleneck Tracking displays your workflow data as a stacked area chart where each colored band represents a different pipeline from your Work Tracker. The height of each colored area shows how many issues are in that pipeline at any given time. The horizontal axis shows time; the vertical axis shows total issue count.

Above the chart, checkboxes let you show or hide specific pipelines. The Closed pipeline is unchecked by default to focus on work in progress.

The chart is cumulative — once an issue enters it moves through different pipeline bands but never disappears, providing a complete picture of work progression.

Identifying bottlenecks

When pipeline bands maintain relatively consistent heights over time, work is flowing steadily through your process. Growing pipeline bands indicate work is accumulating faster than it's being completed. When pipelines like In Progress or Code Review show steadily increasing heights, this typically means you need to address capacity or process issues at that stage.

Use the detailed table below the chart to quantify bottleneck severity, compare pipeline counts across dates to track whether problems are growing or shrinking, and analyze the relative distribution of work across your workflow stages.

When you identify consistent accumulation in specific pipelines, consider adjusting team capacity, adding resources to that stage, or modifying processes to increase throughput. Use bottleneck patterns as starting points for retrospective discussions about why work accumulates in certain stages.

Customizing the report

Check or uncheck specific pipelines to focus on particular parts of your workflow. Use the Repos filter to analyze workflow patterns for specific projects when working across multiple repositories. Use Labels filtering to focus on specific work types and understand whether bottlenecks affect all work equally or impact certain categories more.

FAQ

Q: What's the difference between Bottleneck Tracking and Lead & Cycle Time?
A: Bottleneck Tracking shows work accumulation across all pipeline stages over time to identify where work gets stuck. Lead & Cycle Time measures how long individual issues take to complete. Use Bottleneck Tracking to find workflow problems and Lead & Cycle Time to measure completion speed.

Q: Why do some pipelines show consistent growth while others remain flat?
A: Growing pipelines indicate work is entering that stage faster than it exits, creating bottlenecks. Flat pipelines suggest balanced flow or potentially unused workflow stages. Investigate growing pipelines for capacity or process issues.

Q: Should I be concerned if my Closed pipeline keeps growing?
A: No. The Closed pipeline should grow consistently as it represents completed work. Focus attention on growing work-in-progress pipelines instead.

Q: How do I know if a bottleneck is serious enough to address?
A: Look for pipelines that consistently grow over time, significantly larger bands compared to others, and patterns that correlate with delivery delays or team frustration. Persistent growth typically warrants investigation.

Q: How often should I review Bottleneck Tracking data?
A: Review bottleneck patterns during monthly retrospectives or when you notice delivery delays. Weekly reviews during active process improvement help track the impact of workflow changes.