CA-08

Done Slope Insufficient vs Growth Slope

CFD Advanced

Default severity: medium
PrioritizationProcessMetricsOutputRisk

What it detects

Done band slope is lower than the total WIP growth slope — for every completion, more than the configured ratio of new items enter. System is structurally accumulating. done_slope = linear_regression(done_cumulative, config.ca.slope_window).slope arrival_slope = linear_regression(total_items, config.ca.slope_window).slope gap = arrival_slope - done_slope

Detection formula

IF gap > 0 THEN FLAG IF gap > arrival_slope * config.ca.critical_gap_ratio // default: 0.3 THEN CRITICAL Project months_until_wip_doubles = current_wip / (gap * periods_per_month)

Examples in practice

  • A team shows done band slope is lower than the total wip growth slope while critical gap ratio is set to 0.3.
  • Example signal: Done band slope is lower than the total WIP growth slope — for every completion, more than the configured ratio of new items enter.

Suggested response

Use planning-event context when interpreting advanced CFD bottlenecks, spikes, and ageing WIP.

Coaching playbook

Symptom

Done band slope is lower than the total WIP growth slope — for every completion, more than the configured ratio of new items enter. System is structurally accumulating. done_slope = linear_regression(done_cumulative, config.ca.slope_window).slope arrival_slope = linear_regression(total_items, config.ca.slope_window).slope gap = arrival_slope - done_slope

Why it matters

When "Done Slope Insufficient vs Growth Slope" keeps appearing, the team is signalling a repeatable process gap. Left unexamined, the pattern hides where work really stalls and makes improvement metrics harder to trust.

What you can achieve

Use planning-event context when interpreting advanced CFD bottlenecks, spikes, and ageing WIP.

Facilitation questions

  • What system change would stop "Done Slope Insufficient vs Growth Slope" from firing again?
  • What do the cited issues have in common — same root cause or same workaround?
  • Who owns the two-week experiment and how will we verify on the next import?

Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.

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CA-08: Done Slope Insufficient vs Growth Slope — FlowAnalyzer