Cumulative Flow Explained

Cumulative Flow Diagram is a visual representation used in Kanban to help analyze the stability of the workflow. The CFD is the overall best practice to track progress and estimate process health, fast and effortlessly. 

A Cumulative Flow Layout: 

The diagram shows data in an area graph, displaying the total volume of work for any of the process stages. If you have 4 stages: to do, in progress, in review, and done, then your CFD will have four areas.

The x-axis represents the elapsed time, while the y-axis holds the number of work items.

Jumps and flat lines on the Cumulative Flow Diagram instantly show you where any constraints, bottlenecks, or lack of any activity are present, while smoothly rising lines suggest constant progress, and ensure your ability to accurately predict when work will be completed.

The Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) chart is designed to find typical information about the status of work: how much work is done, ongoing and in backlog, what is the pace of progress. On the other hand, once you understand the chart, it will help you to spot all sorts of issues that a team may be facing and it creates is real value. 

Understanding  the Diagram: (Below) 

First, the meaning of the lines. The green one shows how many items have been delivered over time. Everything that is between the blue and the green curves is stuff that is in testing. The area between the red and the blue lines shows how much stuff is in development (either ongoing or done). Finally, the top part below the orange line is the backlog – how many items weren’t yet started.

In a glimpse, we can find a few important bits of information in the below example. First, after a slow start, the pace of delivery is rather stable. Pretty much the same can be said about work that is in progress – the pace is stable and things go rather smoothly. We know that the scope has increased a couple of times, which we can tell by looking at jumps of the orange line. Finally, comparing where the green line (done) and the orange line (scope) are on a vertical axis right now we can say that we’re not yet halfway through the project.