56 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
56 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
# Lead Time
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## Definition
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Lead Time (specifically Lead Time for Changes) is the interval from when a developer commits code to when that code is successfully deployed to production. It measures the total time from code commitment to customer-facing value delivery.
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## Importance
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Lead Time is a critical DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) metric. Short lead times indicate:
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- Efficient development and delivery processes
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- High levels of automation
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- Reduced risk in deployments
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- Faster feedback loops
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- Better alignment with business objectives
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## Across DevOps Maturity Levels
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| Maturity | Lead Time Characteristic |
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|----------|-------------------------|
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| Phase 1 | Long — manual processes, milestone-based releases, siloed teams cause extended lead times |
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| Phase 2 | Improving — Agile practices introduced, version control helps, but manual interventions persist |
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| Phase 3 | Shorter — automated builds and tests speed up delivery, security integrated earlier |
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| Phase 4 | Significantly reduced — CI pipeline and automated processes enable rapid iteration |
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| Phase 5 | Less than one hour — elite performance, on-demand deployment capability |
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## Elite Performance Benchmark
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According to DORA research:
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- **Elite performers**: Less than one hour lead time
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- **High performers**: Between one week and one month
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- **Medium performers**: Between one month and six months
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- **Low performers**: More than six months
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## Components of Lead Time
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1. **Coding time** — Time to implement the change
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2. **Build time** — Automated compilation and artifact generation
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3. **Test time** — Unit, integration, and acceptance tests
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4. **Review time** — Code review and approval processes
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5. **Deployment time** — Time to deploy through pipeline stages
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6. **Queuing time** — Time waiting for resources or approvals
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## How to Improve Lead Time
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- Automate the entire build-test-deploy pipeline
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- Reduce batch sizes (smaller changes deploy faster)
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- Implement robust automated testing to reduce review burden
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- Eliminate manual approvals that create bottlenecks
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- Use feature flags to decouple deployment from release
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- Improve developer tooling and local build times
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## Sources
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- [[sources/devops-maturity-model-from-traditional-it-to-advanced-devops.md]]
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- [[sources/cloud-devop-maturity-guideline.md]]
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## Related Concepts
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- [[concepts/DORA-Metrics]]
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- [[concepts/Continuous-Deployment]]
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- [[concepts/Time-to-Market]]
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- [[concepts/DevOps-Maturity]]
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