The Cycles Model: Replacing Cycle Time as the Primary Signal: PRINCIPLE 6 - Measure Efficiency to Gain Efficiency with Modern Metrics

Key insight: a work item type that was completed by 3 cycles in 1.5 hours was not less efficient than delivering that same work item type by 1 cycle in 1.5 hours—they are equivalent. But a work item type that took 4 cycles in 8 hours has a rework problem that number of cycles alone would never surface. The number of cycles, and the time per cycle or total time to deliver the accepted work is where efficiency data lives.