Workflow boundary
Also known as Flow boundary, Measurement boundary
Definition
A workflow boundary is a defined event at which measurement begins or ends, such as ready, implementation started, merged, deployed, or released. Boundaries make two otherwise similar flow measures comparable or explain why they differ.
Measurement starts somewhere
A cycle or lead-time number is not self-defining. One team may start at ready, another at the first commit, and another at pull request creation. The finish event may be merge, deployment, or customer availability. A workflow boundary names the portion being measured.
A concrete example
An illustrative change takes two days from pull request open to merge and five days from ready to production. Both results can be correct because they use different boundaries. Presenting them as competing answers to “cycle time” would create a false disagreement.
Document the policy
Record the event, timestamp source, exclusions, reopened behavior, and time treatment. Keep the boundary stable during a comparison or explain when it changes. Use stage boundaries to locate waiting instead of hiding it in one total.
Limitations
Some events are missing or inferred. Inferred timestamps can be useful but should be labeled. A clean boundary does not make the underlying work population complete.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams inspect the events available around a defined delivery interval. Teams must choose the boundary intentionally and verify that the event is recorded consistently, especially when comparing repository activity with production delivery.
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