TI-03
In Progress with Zero Time Remaining
Time Tracking Integrity
Default severity: medium
EstimationProcessMetricsEffort
What it detects
An issue in an active In Progress status has time remaining set to zero (or original estimate fully consumed) but has not been transitioned to Done — the issue is considered complete by the time tracking system but the status has not been updated. This creates a discrepancy between effort tracking and workflow state.
Detection formula
IF issue.status IN config.workflow.active_statuses AND issue.time_remaining = 0 // or remaining estimate field = 0 AND issue.status NOT IN config.workflow.done_statuses THEN FLAG in_progress_zero_remaining IF time_in_active_status_since_zero_remaining > config.ti.stale_zero_remaining_days // default: 1d THEN CRITICAL — issue should have been closed when remaining hit zero Report: issue, status, time_remaining, time_spent, days_since_remaining_was_zeroedExamples in practice
- A team shows an issue in an active in progress status has time remaining set to zero (or original estimate fully consumed) but has not been transitioned to done while active statuses is set to Configured per workspace.
- Example signal: An issue in an active In Progress status has time remaining set to zero (or original estimate fully consumed) but has not been transitioned to Done — the issue is considered complete by the time tracking system but the status has not been updated.
Suggested response
Fix time-tracking states so remaining, spent, and status align with reality.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
An issue in an active In Progress status has time remaining set to zero (or original estimate fully consumed) but has not been transitioned to Done — the issue is considered complete by the time tracking system but the status has not been updated. This creates a discrepancy between effort tracking and workflow state.
Why it matters
When "In Progress with Zero Time Remaining" 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
Fix time-tracking states so remaining, spent, and status align with reality.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "In Progress with Zero Time Remaining" 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.