MI-08
Late Sprint Injection
Metric Integrity
Default severity: medium
MetricsQualityRisk
What it detects
An issue was added to a sprint after the configured late-injection threshold (percentage of sprint elapsed) and resolved within that same sprint.
Detection formula
injection_threshold = config.mi.late_injection_sprint_pct // default: 80% of sprint elapsed injection_pct = (injection_date - sprint.start_date) / sprint_duration IF injection_pct > injection_threshold AND resolved_in_same_sprint THEN FLAG Record: true_backlog_age = injection_date - issue.created_dateExamples in practice
- Item added day 9 of 10-day sprint, closed day 10 — true age hidden
- Bulk admin transitions or resolution anomalies distort cycle time and velocity metrics.
- Closure timestamps or fields suggest data repair rather than organic delivery.
Suggested response
Audit closure and field patterns so metrics reflect real completion, not bulk admin updates.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
An issue was added to a sprint after the configured late-injection threshold (percentage of sprint elapsed) and resolved within that same sprint.
Why it matters
When "Late Sprint Injection" 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
Audit closure and field patterns so metrics reflect real completion, not bulk admin updates.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Late Sprint Injection" 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.