MI-12
Parent in Pre-Release With Open Children
Metric Integrity
Default severity: medium
MetricsQualityRisk
What it detects
Description is not yet published for this rule in the PRD catalogue.
Detection formula
No published identification formula is available yet for this rule.Examples in practice
- Bulk admin transitions or resolution anomalies distort cycle time and velocity metrics.
- Closure timestamps or fields suggest data repair rather than organic delivery.
- A team shows description is not yet published for this rule in the prd catalogue during analysis.
Suggested response
Audit closure and field patterns so metrics reflect real completion, not bulk admin updates.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
A parent issue (Epic, Feature, or configured parent type) sits in a pre-release workflow stage — for example In Review, Ready for Release, or UAT — while at least one direct child is still open and not in a terminal status. The parent looks close to shipping, but unfinished child work still sits underneath.
Why it matters
Pre-release parents with open children inflate “almost done” WIP and distort release readiness. Release trains and stakeholders see parents in the pipeline while real scope is still active below — late surprises and carry-over follow.
What you can achieve
Release readiness that matches the hierarchy: parents enter pre-release only when children are terminal or explicitly deferred with a named owner and date.
Facilitation questions
- Which open children still block calling this parent truly pre-release?
- Why did the parent advance before its children reached terminal status?
- What rule would keep parents from entering pre-release until children are ready?
Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.