CT-04
Avg-Median Gap (Right Skew)
Right Skew
Default severity: medium
ProcessMetricsOutputRisk
What it detects
Average significantly higher than median — a small number of extreme outliers inflate the perceived cycle time. Gap threshold is configurable.
Detection formula
IF (avg - median) / median > config.ct.avg_median_gap_ratio // default: 0.3 THEN WARN — outliers distorting averageExamples in practice
- Median cycle time is 5 days but the average is 8 days — a 60% gap driven by a few extreme outliers.
- Most items finish quickly while a handful of aged tickets inflate the team average.
- The team reports an "8-day average" even though typical work finishes in about 5 days.
Suggested response
Review cycle-time drivers on the cited work items; tighten WIP or handoffs where delays repeat.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
Average significantly higher than median — a small number of extreme outliers inflate the perceived cycle time. Gap threshold is configurable.
Why it matters
When "Avg-Median Gap (Right Skew)" 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
Review cycle-time drivers on the cited work items; tighten WIP or handoffs where delays repeat.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Avg-Median Gap (Right Skew)" 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.