FI-10
Unblock Time Exceeds Cycle Time Stddev
Flags
Default severity: medium
ProcessOutputRisk
What it detects
A flag was raised and removed on the same day — the impediment was acknowledged but cleared within hours. Either the blocker was genuinely trivial (in which case the flag was unnecessary), or more suspiciously, the flag was removed without being addressed to avoid metric scrutiny. Correlates with MI-04 and gaming patterns.
Detection formula
FOR each_flag_event F: flag_set = changelog.find(field=\'flagged\', new=\'Impediment\', date=D) flag_clear = changelog.find(field=\'flagged\', old=\'Impediment\', date=D, same day) IF flag_clear EXISTS same_day AS flag_set THEN FLAG same_day_flag_removal IF COUNT(comments BETWEEN flag_set AND flag_clear) = 0 THEN CRITICAL — flag raised and cleared same day with no comment: probable gaming Report: issue, flag_set_time, flag_clear_time, duration_hours, actor, comment_countExamples in practice
- A team shows a flag was raised and removed on the same day during analysis.
- Example signal: A flag was raised and removed on the same day — the impediment was acknowledged but cleared within hours.
Suggested response
Close the loop on flags—link blockers, set owners, and clear impediments with traceability.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
A flag was raised and removed on the same day — the impediment was acknowledged but cleared within hours. Either the blocker was genuinely trivial (in which case the flag was unnecessary), or more suspiciously, the flag was removed without being addressed to avoid metric scrutiny. Correlates with MI-04 and gaming patterns.
Why it matters
When "Unblock Time Exceeds Cycle Time Stddev" 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
Close the loop on flags—link blockers, set owners, and clear impediments with traceability.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Unblock Time Exceeds Cycle Time Stddev" 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.