---
title: "Cycle Time Histogram"
canonical: "https://support.55degrees.se/space/SP/4355457048/Cycle%20Time%20Histogram"
format: markdown
---
[Jira Cloud & Data Center] [Azure devops] [standalone]

![Screenshot 2026-06-05 at 10.17.43.png](media://ce1eeb7b-70fa-45bc-a501-da45d4a3084a)

### Cycle Time

> ℹ️ **Cycle time is the total number of days it takes to complete a single piece of work**. 
> ℹ️ 
> ℹ️ Measured from the day you start working on it until the day it is completely finished (including weekends, bank holidays etc.).

**The Cycle Time histogram:** This bar chart shows the distribution of your various cycle times. In other words, it shows you how often you achieve a certain cycle time.

Cycle time is measured in calendar days, thus **includes weekends and bank holidays** etc. 

### Use

Understanding the range and frequency of delivery times to guide expectations and improve predictability.

### Reading the Chart

The horizontal axis represents a **Cycle Time**. In this case, the number of *days* it took to complete items.

The vertical axis represents a **Frequency**. In this case, the frequency means the number of items that had that particular cycle time.

![Screenshot 2024-01-31 at 14.17.29.png](media://dddca561-5cf2-44e9-be80-a8a348ef262b)

In the chart above, you can see that more of our items have a cycle time of 2 days than any other value.

Hover over any bar to see the frequency of a given cycle time.

![Screenshot 2024-01-31 at 14.18.58.png](media://fd9a542d-bcd7-4467-a30a-4642ec9fc4fa)

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### Cycle Time Histogram Chart Controls

> Macro (refined-tabs)
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> The orange line on the chart, shows you the cumulative percentile of work items that were completed, with any given cycle time.
> 
> The cumulative percentile is found in the vertical axis on the right side of the chart.
> 
> You can choose whether or not you want to display this, by clicking the 'Cumulative %' label below the chart.
> 
> ![Screenshot 2026-06-05 at 11.30.45.png](media://d15c1bfd-638c-4fd8-b280-1041675ed592)
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> Done Percentiles are vertical lines on the Cycle Time Histogram, that show you **what percentage of past work items were completed in X number of days or less.**
> 
> For example, if your 85th percentile line sits at 16 days, it means that historically, **85% of your team's work items were completed in 16 days or less.**
> 
> ![Screenshot 2024-01-31 at 14.20.14.png](media://7ce47964-1aa0-45cf-ab80-dcc7728dc20e)
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> By default, the option "Include Time Blocked" is selected. If you deselect this option, you will see the chart change to show what the cycle times would have been if the items had not been blocked. Essentially it subtracts blocked time from the overall cycle time of each item and then plots them on the chart. 
> 
> ![Screenshot 2024-06-24 at 16.19.11.png](media://48e33006-b03d-41b3-b966-2899fa438184)
> 
> > ℹ️ The best place to investigate and understand the impact of blocked time would be on the [https://support.55degrees.se/space/SP/4312957014](https://support.55degrees.se/space/SP/4312957014).
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> When you choose *Cycle Time* or *Frequency*, the value on the relevant axis will be highlighted based on your cursor placement.
> 
> ![Screenshot 2024-06-24 at 16.19.22.png](media://e510fe75-ea4a-4d76-944d-a962db487d68)

### General Chart Controls

> Macro (refined-tabs)
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> This All Charts Control allows you to choose static dates or rolling period of time, so you can see data from a specific date range. Every Flow Insight will adhere to the date range that you choose. 
> 
> ![Screenshot 2026-05-20 at 15.50.03.png](media://471b0cac-78bf-4a17-857d-5c0bbfb99012)
> 
> - To get **Static Dates**, select directly on the Visible Period’s calendar or manually enter the dates you want in the designated boxes below. These dates will remain the same, hence the *static*.
> - For a **Rolling Period**, pick one of the pre-made options to the right of the Visible Period’s calendar. This period will update to the current day, hence the *rolling*.
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> This All Charts Control designates which Workflow Stages are considered [not started],  [in progress] and [finished]. Work items within each Workflow Stage will adhere to that sorting and count toward the calculations of Cycle Time, Throughput, WIP and Age. 
> 
> ![Screenshot 2026-05-21 at 10.56.54.png](media://de9b8b70-aa61-4fad-88cf-df620789e2ba)
> 
> The Workflow Stages are colour-coded so you can easily tell where the workflow starts and ends. Unchecking from the top down creates a later start, unchecking from the bottom up makes an earlier finish. Unchecking in the middle will merge your Workflow Stage with the one above - it will *not* remove or delete time spent in that Workflow Stage. 
> 
> ![Screenshot 2026-05-21 at 10.56.04.png](media://e270c76c-071c-4345-bc65-119bb4d146ac)
> 
> On the Cycle Time Histogram, as well as the Scatterplot, you will see work items that have been [finished], thus are in one of the workflow stages marked in green.
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> You can filter down the items represented on this chart by choosing one or more available filters. 
> 
> ![Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 15.02.24.png](media://128e1679-c0d9-4cd1-b029-4c5b890800ef)
> 
> If you want to clear your filters so that all items are represented again, you click the Reset button.
> 
> > Macro (refined-tab)
> 
> To show the Data Control, click the symbol in the top right-hand corner of the chart, and it will appear below the chart.
> 
> With this control, you can further **narrow down the data included in the chart.** When doing so, the percentiles will be **re-calculated**.
> 
> All you have to do is click and drag over the desired time period and/or cycle time range, or use the date selector in the top-right corner of the Data Control.
> 
> > ℹ️ **Want to zoom in on the chart? **
> > ℹ️ 
> > ℹ️ You can zoom in on the histogram itself, without triggering a re-calculation of percentiles.
> > ℹ️ 
> > ℹ️ If you use the Data control to zoom in, it will re-calculate those automatically.
> 
> ![Screenshot 2026-06-05 at 11.27.15.png](media://ee0c00f0-972c-4cdd-ba98-0367e9926bf5)

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