Flow

The Flow widget shows the number of issues moving through different stages (defined by Yandex Tracker statuses) over time. You can use a cumulative flow chart to identify processes that boost or hinder team productivity.

With the Flow widget, you can build a chart and see the number of issues in different statuses distributed across time intervals.

What the chart shows

The chart shows typical Agile metrics:

• Total number of unresolved issues in various statuses
• Number of issues resolved over a time interval.
• The time it takes for issues to go through a cycle from the initial status to the final status.

Setting up widgets

Add the Flow widget to your dashboard (see Editing a dashboard) and configure its parameters:

• Header: Name shown in the widget header.

• Issue source: Filter used to form the list of issues. Select a system or custom filter from the list, or configure a filter using the query language or parameters. For more information, see Creating and configuring an issue filter.

• Statuses: Choose one of the following:

  • Default: Status order and colors are selected automatically.
  • Custom settings: Configure status order and colors manually:
    • To add a status to the chart, click Add status.
    • To move a status on the chart, drag it by the icon.
    • To change a status color, click its current color and choose a new one from the palette.

• Automatic update: Enable this option to refresh the chart at specified intervals. You can specify the interval using the Time intervals parameter.

• Factor in closed issues: Enable this option to include issues completed before the chart period began.

• Issue count method: Choose one of the following:

  • All statuses: Allows factoring in all issue status updates at each step of the chart.
  • Last status: A chart step reflects each issue only once (in the status that was set last).

• Period: Time period shown on the chart. To make sure the chart period starts from the current date when the widget updates, go to the Main or Other tab and select a dynamic date range such as Last month.

  You can also set up the period after the chart is built. To do this, click in the top right corner of the widget and specify a date range.

• Time intervals: Time step size along the period axis. The step size can vary: days, weeks, months, or sprints.

Chart data display

By default, opening statuses appear at the top, closing statuses at the bottom, with intermediate statuses in between.
Status is based on the workflow of selected issues.

You can change the status order in the widget settings.

How to configure data display in the chart:

• The last update time shows how current the data is.
  Hover over to see the exact widget date and time and the author's name.

• You can open the list of issues that form a line on the chart in any of its points.
  To do this, click a point on the line and select a status with a non-zero number of issues in the tooltip. The filter page with a preset list of issue keys opens in a new tab.

  If there are more than 100 issues in the selected status, some of them may fail to be included in the list due to exceeding the URL length limit.

• You can change the data view by switching the items under the chart by pressing Ctrl on Windows or Command on macOS. For example, you can disable or enable separate chart lines this way.
  Click on a status name below the chart to see its data.

• Select a specific chart area to zoom in on it.

Analyzing the widget data

The widget shows issues in various statuses (represented by different colors), which allows you to track their progress over time.
The chart is built with the X-axis showing the period step values and the Y-axis showing the number of issues.

You can analyze charts in depth, identifying distinct patterns. For example:

• The smaller the angle of the status chart, the fewer issues transition into it; the larger the angle, the more issues transition into this status. The horizontal chart line indicates that no new issues are assigned or completed.

• A wider color band means more tasks are stuck in that status.

• A growing gap between the open and closed statuses means the issue flow is too large for the current process. If these two charts rise in parallel without any spikes, it means that the issue flow and the process are balanced.

• During periods of team inactivity, all lines on the chart become flat. A single flat line indicates a problem at that step.

• A predictable chart shape, such as stepped, indicates a stable and iterative process.