Throughput Diagram
==================

`View article on our wiki <https://xscale.wiki/#Throughput%20Diagram>`__

-  In `Lean
   Manufacturing <https://xscale.wiki/#Lean%20Manufacturing>`__, the
   progress of a `Kanban <https://xscale.wiki/#Kanban>`__ is tracked
   over time using a {{Cumulative Flow Diagram}} (CFD). CFDs are
   superior to traditional Agile burndown/burnup charts because they
   make it easier to see causes of
   `Waste <https://xscale.wiki/#Waste>`__,
   `Stress <https://xscale.wiki/#Stress>`__ and
   `Instability <https://xscale.wiki/#Instability>`__.
-  To represent `Throughput <https://xscale.wiki/#Throughput>`__ the
   diagram must account for the time taken up in analysing the Features
   in an Epic and the Stories in a Feature, not just the delivery and
   integration workflow per story, and continuously represent the
   components of Return as well.
-  If a `Value Stream <https://xscale.wiki/#Value%20Stream>`__ is trying
   to hit a calendar date It’s important to be able to see by simple
   visual inspection of diagrams when the feature point budget for a
   feature has been exceeded by `Story
   Point <https://xscale.wiki/#Story%20Point>`__ estimates, and that
   consequently a release must be
   `refactored <https://xscale.wiki/#Release%20Refactoring>`__.

**Therefore,**

`Feature Point <https://xscale.wiki/#Feature%20Point>`__\ s provide a
simple basis for this kind of accounting. The cost of an Epic over the
life of a release is the sum of its Feature Points. And as each Feature
is delivered by just one Squad at a time, the Feature Point cost of a
story is simply its `Story
Point <https://xscale.wiki/#Story%20Point>`__\ s divided by Squad
`Velocity <https://xscale.wiki/#Velocity>`__.

A CFD that represents all these metrics is called a **Throughput
Diagram**. The topmost “return” line can represent revenue or an Epic’s
`Critical Number <https://xscale.wiki/#Critical%20Number>`__. As with
CFDs, Throughput Diagrams can be added together to represent the flows
of whole `Portfolio <https://xscale.wiki/#Portfolio>`__\ s.

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