--- title: "Heat Map" canonical: "https://support.55degrees.se/space/SP/4367679496/Heat%20Map" format: markdown --- [jira cloud & data center] [azure devops] [standalone] The **Heat Map** is a chart that visualizes where your process accumulates the most cycle time within each workflow stage, broken down by a specific attribute of your data. ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.23.05.png](media://07bf7f64-8b07-4020-b432-c9e1d1db93e8) In ActionableAgile® Analytics, the Heat Map Chart tells you the cumulative number of days spent in each workflow stage for the specific attribute you've chosen in the Topic chart control. In other words, it displays where your process has accumulated the most Cycle Time for a given attribute. > ℹ️ Remember that the cycle time is the total elapsed time it took for the item to be completed, including any blocked time and weekends. ### Reading the Chart The **color** of the cell tells you where in the range of values that number lands. For instance, in the image above, all of the highest numbers are red, slightly lower numbers are orange, then yellow, and so on... ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.29.39.png](media://af7db2c5-acf6-4111-8862-df15a2898170) The legend shows you where on the color axis the selected cell lies. ### Interacting with the Chart Here's how to get more information about the data reflected in any cell: > ℹ️ The smallest unit is a full day, so anything smaller will be displayed as <1 (if items spent less than a day in a specific workflow stage) or 0 if no time was spent in this workflow stage. ### Analyzing the Data The Heat Map is an excellent tool for uncovering hidden trends or patterns in your workflow. For example, teams have successfully used the Heat Map alongside other charts to discover that the vast majority of their process wait time was bottlenecking in a specific stage, such as "validation" or "in review”. It clearly exposes "work item parking garages", places where work goes to sit idle. For instance, **if your team uses a "Blocked" column** as a place to stash inconvenient tickets without resolving the root cause, the Heat Map will clearly highlight the massive accumulation of time building up in that specific column Let’s look at the example below: ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 12.05.01.png](media://92fe479d-61fd-43d9-ba08-e938e91f593a) We can observe that the dark orange cells appear for **Stories** and **Sub-tasks** in the **Up Next** and **In Progress** stages. This indicates that these issue types account for most of the elapsed time recorded during the selected period. As work progresses through the workflow, the colors become lighter, and even green. This suggests that less elapsed time is being accumulated in stages such as: - Ready for Review - Reviewing - Hold for Launch - Launching This can indicate either lower work volume in these stages or that work tends to move through them more quickly. Several workflow stages show a value of **0**, a zero value means no elapsed time was recorded for that issue type in that workflow stage during the selected period. This may occur because: - No items of that type entered the stage. - The workflow stage is not commonly used for that issue type. - No completed work met the criteria for inclusion in the analysis. > ℹ️ Having many zeros could be a sign that your workflow is not aligned with your actual work, since no work has passed through this particular workflow stage. Rather than focusing on individual values, look for: - **Clusters of dark orange cells**, which highlight where elapsed time is concentrated. - **Rows with consistent color changes**, which show how different issue types move through the workflow. - **Columns with many dark orange cells**, which may indicate stages where work tends to accumulate across multiple issue types. - **Rows or columns with many zeros**, which may reveal workflow stages that are rarely used or potentially unnecessary. ### Key Charts Controls > Macro (refined-tabs) > > > Macro (refined-tab) > > You can see how long items spend in any workflow state through many different groupings called Topics. The listed topics are pulled from column headers in your data. The list of topics matches the boxes in the Item Filter chart control for your data. > > ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.39.41.png](media://261b5f74-4f1c-4af4-b46e-dcdf19de3f4e) > > > > > Macro (refined-tab) > > Choose from four color palettes to suit your preferences and accessibility needs. Although the "Green-Yellow-Red" stoplight palette is a popular choice, some color-blind users may find alternative palettes, such as “Purple-White-Orange,” easier to distinguish. > > ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.42.45.png](media://71fdb08d-f288-465e-946b-6856ef5c63b2) > > | | | > | --- | --- | > | Green-Yellow-Red | ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 13.20.11.png](media://da97795f-9d99-41ce-a9e4-701754e95f3e) | > | Green-White-Purple | ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 13.21.38.png](media://0b98a9fb-a7de-49f9-bb38-dd0e01d49b6c) | > | Blue-White-Red | ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 13.22.08.png](media://5adfe252-0b93-4e32-be4a-3a6cd6f9521b) | > | Purple-White-Orange | ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 13.22.37.png](media://b7d652c0-0e12-453b-a629-61492a2f4acf) | > > > Macro (refined-tab) > > To activate the Data Control, select the corresponding symbol in the top right-hand corner of the chart. > > ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.51.08.png](media://b6c210bf-d3db-457a-9ead-73aadf1d7b4a) > > You can use the data control to zoom in on a specific time period in your data. All you have to do is click and select the desired time period, or use the date selector in the top-right corner. > > ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.51.47.png](media://36166c42-7b28-4a69-80b6-f0fe2d52d67b) > > > 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. The Throughput Basis will only show and use data from the time period chosen here. > > ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.49.19.png](media://a1c93ddd-0bd6-44f2-8c13-d758d8845e66) > > - 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) > > The Item Filter for This Chart functions in the same way as the All Charts version; the main difference is that it *only* affects the current chart you’re on, and the attributes you’ve filtered by in the All Charts version will be the only choices available. > > ![Screenshot 2026-06-09 at 11.44.38.png](media://4586a5fc-38ab-43b4-8b38-5e48c3795e15) > > > > 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 2026-06-09 at 11.46.12.png](media://7db8f261-3f87-4ed9-8956-bc2a89eb998d) > > > 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 2026-06-09 at 11.45.52.png](media://ee4ccf77-9f97-49b2-aef6-a7bdcc73a109)