Flow review
Also known as Flow management review, Delivery flow review
Definition
A flow review is a structured inspection of work movement, waiting, WIP, and delivery outcomes. Its purpose is to learn where the system is constrained and agree on a small change to test.
Inspect movement, not busyness
A flow review asks what is moving, what is waiting, and what is growing old. It should look at a small set of measures with concrete examples rather than rank individuals by activity. The team then selects a constraint or policy to investigate.
A concrete example
An illustrative review sees stable throughput but a rising review queue. The team samples five old changes, finds that all require a specialist approval, and agrees to clarify ownership for the next two weeks. The next review checks queue age and any quality impact.
Keep the conversation safe
Use distributions and system-level patterns. Treat outliers as questions, not accusations. Record the hypothesis, intervention, and observation window so the review can learn from an experiment instead of cycling through opinions.
Limitations
A review meeting does not improve flow by itself. Poor data, unclear workflow boundaries, or a culture of blame can turn it into metric theater. Keep the agenda short and connect every discussion to an actionable decision.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can support a flow review by helping teams move from aggregate delivery patterns to the changes and review events behind them. It is an evidence source, not a replacement for team judgment, product context, or the system that records all work.
Explore Engineering intelligence