Handoff delay
Also known as Handoff waiting time, Transfer delay
Definition
Handoff delay is the elapsed time between one participant completing its part of work and the next participant beginning the corresponding action. It is a process delay, not necessarily a sign of individual inactivity.
The gap between stages
Handoff delay appears when work is ready for the next participant but no one takes the next action. The cause may be unclear ownership, a missing notification, time-zone coverage, an overloaded queue, or information that was not transferred clearly.
A concrete example
An illustrative pull request receives a passing build at 2 p.m. Monday and its first review begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The overnight gap is not automatically waste, but repeated gaps during working hours may indicate a review-queue or ownership problem.
Improve the transfer
Make the next owner visible, define pull criteria, reduce batch size, and ensure the receiving participant has enough context. Measure before and after the change, including rework, because a rushed handoff can trade waiting for defects.
Limitations
Not every gap is a handoff delay. The author may still be working, or a deliberate review window may be part of the policy. Use event definitions and qualitative checks together.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams inspect timestamps around reviews, checks, and delivery events to find likely handoff delays. It cannot explain communication or ownership context by itself, so teams should validate the mechanism before changing responsibilities.
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