CH-14

Target Date Slippage

Content & History

Default severity: medium
Product BacklogProcessQuality

What it detects

A configured target date field was extended more than the configured maximum number of times, or the total slippage exceeds the configured day threshold.

Detection formula

date_fields = config.content.target_date_fields // e.g. \[\'due_date\', \'target_date\', \'deadline\'\] FOR each_field F IN date_fields: changes = changelog.filter(field=F) IF COUNT(changes) >= config.content.max_date_changes // default: 3 THEN FLAG total_slippage = SUM(new_date - old_date FOR each change) IF total_slippage > config.content.critical_slippage_days // default: 60d THEN CRITICAL

Examples in practice

  • Set once; extended max 1 time
  • A team shows a configured target date field was extended more than the configured maximum number of times, or the total slippage exceeds the configured day threshold while target date fields is set to Configured per workspace.
  • Example signal: A configured target date field was extended more than the configured maximum number of times, or the total slippage exceeds the configured day threshold.

Suggested response

Protect narrative quality: write items before work starts and avoid late or empty edits.

Coaching playbook

Symptom

A configured target date field was extended more than the configured maximum number of times, or the total slippage exceeds the configured day threshold.

Why it matters

When "Target Date Slippage" 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

Protect narrative quality: write items before work starts and avoid late or empty edits.

Facilitation questions

  • What system change would stop "Target Date Slippage" 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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CH-14: Target Date Slippage — FlowAnalyzer