Commitment point
Also known as Commitment boundary, Delivery commitment point
Definition
A commitment point is the explicit boundary at which a work item enters a delivery promise or forecast population. It should be observable and defined separately from earlier ideas or requests.
A clock needs a boundary
A commitment point separates “we may do this” from “this item is ready to enter the delivery system.” Without that boundary, lead-time measurements can mix speculative requests with work that had a real expectation of service.
A concrete example
Suppose an illustrative team records a request when it is submitted, but considers it committed only after acceptance criteria and an owner are confirmed. A request submitted in January and committed in March has two different waits. Reporting them as one delivery interval would obscure the distinction between intake and delivery.
Make the event explicit
Name the state transition, record its timestamp, and define which items are excluded. Pair the commitment point with a finish point and a service policy. Revisit the boundary if teams routinely bypass it for urgent work.
Limitations
Some work is intentionally exploratory or cannot be specified early. Forcing it through a commitment gate can create false certainty. Use a separate class or policy when uncertainty is the important fact.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams inspect delivery timing after a defined commitment event, including the change activity that follows it. Teams must still choose and document the commitment boundary in the work system before using analytics for forecasting.
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