IT-04

Cross-Sprint Issue Type Composition Drift

Issue Type Distribution

Default severity: medium
Product BacklogMetricsQuality

What it detects

The composition of issue types delivered per sprint has drifted significantly from the planned composition at PI planning — the team is delivering different types of work than committed (e.g. more bugs, fewer features). Detects invisible rebalancing of sprint content mid-PI. planned_composition = issue_type_distribution(issues committed at PI planning, current PI) actual_composition = issue_type_distribution(issues resolved, current PI to date)

Detection formula

FOR each_type T: drift(T) = ABS(actual_pct(T) - planned_pct(T)) IF drift(T) > config.it.composition_drift_threshold // default: 15 percentage points THEN FLAG composition_drift for type T Report: planned vs actual % per issue type

Examples in practice

  • A team shows the composition of issue types delivered per sprint has drifted significantly from the planned composition at pi planning while composition drift threshold is set to 15 percentage points.
  • Example signal: The composition of issue types delivered per sprint has drifted significantly from the planned composition at PI planning — the team is delivering different types of work than committed (e.

Suggested response

Rebalance issue-type mix and debt trends so quality signals stay intentional.

Coaching playbook

Symptom

The composition of issue types delivered per sprint has drifted significantly from the planned composition at PI planning — the team is delivering different types of work than committed (e.g. more bugs, fewer features). Detects invisible rebalancing of sprint content mid-PI. planned_composition = issue_type_distribution(issues committed at PI planning, current PI) actual_composition = issue_type_distribution(issues resolved, current PI to date)

Why it matters

When "Cross-Sprint Issue Type Composition Drift" 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

Rebalance issue-type mix and debt trends so quality signals stay intentional.

Facilitation questions

  • What system change would stop "Cross-Sprint Issue Type Composition Drift" 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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IT-04: Cross-Sprint Issue Type Composition Drift — FlowAnalyzer