Flow age
Also known as Oldest item review
Definition
Flow age applies an explicit clock to unfinished work moving through a system. It helps teams focus attention on old items instead of relying only on statistics from completed work.
Flow age in practice
Flow age applies an explicit clock to unfinished work moving through a system. It helps teams focus attention on old items instead of relying only on statistics from completed work.
A concrete example
An illustrative team reviews the five oldest items each morning. One has waited for a product decision, so the team changes its status and owner rather than counting it as active implementation. The age prompted a decision.
How to use the signal
Compare this measure with cycle time, throughput, work in progress, and queue time. Define the start and finish events, inspect distributions instead of relying on one average, and record the policy behind any comparison. A useful measure should lead to a specific question about flow rather than a score for an individual.
Limitations
Flow age depends on accurate transitions and a stable boundary. It can mislead for intentionally parked, exploratory, or reopened work unless those policies are recorded.
How this relates to Weave
Weave's engineering intelligence can help teams inspect delivery activity and timing around flow age. Use those signals to find patterns and test workflow improvements, while keeping the team's work system as the source of truth for product, operational, and dependency context.
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