Throughput rate
Also known as Delivery throughput rate, Work completion rate
Definition
Throughput rate is completed work divided by the interval in which it was completed. It is a rate version of throughput and requires a stable definition of item, completion, and time period.
Throughput expressed over time
Throughput rate turns a count of completed items into a time-based measure, such as changes per week or deploys per month. It is useful for understanding service capacity and forecasting, but the count remains dependent on what qualifies as an item and what qualifies as finished.
A concrete example
An illustrative team completes 18 comparable changes over three weeks. Its observed throughput rate is six changes per week. If the next period contains large migrations instead, the historical rate should not be applied without a class or size adjustment.
Pair rate with quality
Look at cycle time, change failure rate, rework, and work in progress. A higher rate can result from smaller slices, but it can also reflect incomplete work being counted early. Stable boundaries help distinguish the possibilities.
Limitations
Throughput rate is not developer productivity and should not be used as an individual quota. Item counts hide scope and value. State the population and inspect outcomes before using the rate for comparison.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams examine completed change activity and delivery patterns that contribute to a throughput-rate trend. Keep the full work population and completion policy in view, since code events alone may not represent every outcome.
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