How to Analyze Cycle Time by Contributor

The 'Cycle Time by Contributors' widget on your devActivity.com Dashboard is a powerful tool for understanding and optimizing your development workflow. This guide will walk you through how to effectively use and interpret this widget, from basic visualization to advanced features like AI insights and detailed drill-downs.

Prerequisites

• Access to your devActivity.com Dashboard.
• Sufficient data from your connected GitHub repositories.

Steps to Analyze Cycle Time by Contributor

1. Locate the Widget

   Navigate to your devActivity.com Dashboard. The 'Cycle Time by Contributors' widget is typically found under the 'Cycle Time' section. Look for the title 'Cycle Time by Contributors'.

2. Interpret the Bar Chart

   Each horizontal bar represents a different contributor, identified by their avatar. The bar is segmented into three color-coded stages:

   • Light Blue: Coding Time
   • Medium Blue: Pickup Time
   • Dark Blue: Review Time

   Observe the length of each segment to understand how much time a contributor spent in each stage. Longer segments indicate more time spent. For example, '20d 22h 35min' shows a significant duration.

3. Identify Trends and Bottlenecks

   Scan the chart to quickly identify:

   • Contributors with overall longer cycle times (longer total bars).
   • Specific stages that are consistently long for certain individuals (e.g., a very long 'Review' segment).
   • Contributors with 'No contributions for selected period' if they were inactive.

4. Export Data for Further Analysis

   To perform custom analysis or include data in external reports:

   1. Locate the Download icon (down arrow) usually found near the widget's title.
   2. Click the icon to export the chart data, typically to a CSV file. You may also have an option to copy the data to your clipboard.

5. Leverage AI Insights (Premium Feature)

   For premium users, devActivity offers AI-driven insights:

   1. Click the Sparkle icon (AI insights icon) on the widget.
   2. Utilize configurable prompts to ask specific questions about cycle time trends, contributing factors, or performance anomalies.
   3. Review the AI-generated insights to gain deeper understanding and actionable recommendations.

6. Drill Down into Detailed Reports

   To examine the specific work items contributing to a contributor's cycle time:

   1. Click on any segment of a contributor's bar within the chart.
   2. This action will navigate you to a more detailed Cycle Time report within the 'Work Quality' section of devActivity.com, providing granular information about associated pull requests and tasks.

Tips for Effective Analysis

• Use the date range selector (if available on the Dashboard) to analyze cycle time over different periods.
• Look for patterns: Are 'Pickup' times consistently high after weekends? Is 'Review' time increasing as your team grows?
• Combine insights from this widget with other devActivity reports to get a holistic view of developer activity.