Work in Progress (WIP) measures the number of items actively in flight at any moment, plus the average across a period. High WIP is the most reliable early-warning signal for context-switching, overload, and delivery slowdowns.
What it measures
How many items the team is working on simultaneously. Both point-in-time and period-average WIP are tracked.
How Leanmote calculates it
wip(t) = count(items where status in active_states at time t) average_wip = avg(wip(t)) over period
Active states are explicit — typically
in_progress,in_review,qa, and similar. The exact set comes from your workflow mapping.Both point-in-time and period-average values are reported.
WIP per team and per stream gives the most actionable view.
How to interpret it
WIP rising faster than throughput is the classic bottleneck signal. Cycle time will rise next.
WIP much higher than team size usually means people are juggling too many items at once. Context-switching cost is invisible but real.
WIP near zero with steady throughput can be healthy — the team is finishing what it starts. Just verify the workflow transitions are being recorded correctly.
What to do about it
Set explicit WIP limits per stage. The most common pattern:
limit ≤ team_size + 1.Pull-based flow: don't start a new item until an in-flight one finishes.
If WIP is concentrated in one stage (e.g., review), invest there first.
Make WIP visible in the team's daily ritual so it's not just a leadership metric.
Little's Law
WIP, throughput, and cycle time are linked by Little's Law: cycle_time ≈ wip / throughput. If you can't lift throughput, the only way to shorten cycle time is to reduce WIP.
Related metrics
Throughput
Cycle Time
Avg Member WIP Age
Flow metrics overview