TI-07
Time Spent Exceeds Original Estimate — In Progress
Time Tracking Integrity
Default severity: medium
EstimationProcessMetricsEffort
What it detects
An issue in an active status has already exceeded its original estimate in logged time — it is overrunning while still not complete. This is an active overrun signal (contrast with EP-06 which measures closed items). The Scrum Master should be notified to re-estimate and re-plan the sprint capacity.
Detection formula
IF issue.status IN config.workflow.active_statuses AND SUM(worklog.time_spent) > issue.original_estimate AND issue.original_estimate > 0 THEN FLAG active_overrun overrun_ratio = SUM(worklog.time_spent) / issue.original_estimate IF overrun_ratio > config.ti.active_overrun_critical_ratio // default: 2.0 THEN CRITICAL — at double the estimate and still In Progress Correlate with SG-06 (signal chart overrun detection) Report: issue, original_estimate, time_spent, overrun_ratio, remaining (if set)Examples in practice
- A team shows an issue in an active status has already exceeded its original estimate in logged time while active statuses is set to Configured per workspace.
- Example signal: An issue in an active status has already exceeded its original estimate in logged time — it is overrunning while still not complete.
Suggested response
Fix time-tracking states so remaining, spent, and status align with reality.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
An issue in an active status has already exceeded its original estimate in logged time — it is overrunning while still not complete. This is an active overrun signal (contrast with EP-06 which measures closed items). The Scrum Master should be notified to re-estimate and re-plan the sprint capacity.
Why it matters
When "Time Spent Exceeds Original Estimate — In Progress" 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 "Time Spent Exceeds Original Estimate — In Progress" 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.