[area-cumulative-flow] Cumulative Flow Diagram for Workflow Analytics

[MarkusNeusinger]

Description

A stacked area chart showing the cumulative count of items in each workflow stage over time. Each band represents a stage (e.g., Backlog, In Progress, Done), and the vertical distance between bands shows work-in-progress. This is a key visualization in Lean/Agile project management for identifying bottlenecks and flow efficiency.

Applications

• Monitoring Kanban board throughput and cycle time
• Identifying bottlenecks in software development pipelines
• Tracking manufacturing workflow stages over time
• Visualizing support ticket lifecycle stages

Data

• date (date) — time axis
• stage (categorical, ordered) — workflow stage name
• count (int) — cumulative number of items in that stage
• Size: 30–365 days, 4–8 stages

Notes

• Stages stacked in workflow order (top = earliest, bottom = latest)
• Vertical distance between two bands = items in that stage
• Narrowing bands indicate bottlenecks

[claude]

✅ Spec ID: area-cumulative-flow

Rationale: Cumulative Flow Diagrams are a distinct stacked-area variant specific to Lean/Agile workflow analytics, where workflow-ordered stages, cumulative counts, and WIP interpretation distinguish them from general stacked area charts (existing area-stacked spec).

Add label approved to begin generation.

[github-actions]

✅ Specification Ready: area-cumulative-flow

PR: #5254

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specification.md

area-cumulative-flow: Cumulative Flow Diagram for Workflow Analytics

Description

A cumulative flow diagram (CFD) displays the cumulative count of items in each workflow stage as stacked areas over time. Each band represents a stage (e.g., Backlog, In Progress, Done), and the vertical distance between two adjacent band boundaries shows the number of items currently in that stage (work-in-progress). This is a key visualization in Lean and Agile project management for identifying bottlenecks, monitoring throughput, and assessing flow efficiency across a delivery pipeline.

Applications

• Monitoring Kanban board throughput and cycle time to assess team delivery performance
• Identifying bottlenecks in software development pipelines by spotting widening or narrowing bands
• Tracking manufacturing workflow stages over time to optimize production flow
• Visualizing support ticket lifecycle stages to measure resolution efficiency

Data

• date (date) - time axis representing the reporting period
• stage (categorical, ordered) - workflow stage name in process order (e.g., Backlog, Analysis, Development, Testing, Done)
• count (int) - cumulative number of items that have entered or passed through that stage by the given date
• Size: 30-365 days, 4-8 stages
• Example: daily cumulative item counts across a Kanban board with stages Backlog, In Progress, Review, Done over 90 days

Notes

• Stages must be stacked in workflow order: earliest stage (e.g., Backlog) on top, latest stage (e.g., Done) on bottom
• The vertical distance between two adjacent band boundaries represents the number of items currently in that stage (WIP)
• Cumulative counts are monotonically non-decreasing; each stage's count should always be greater than or equal to the count of the next stage in the workflow
• Widening bands indicate growing WIP or bottlenecks; narrowing bands indicate stages draining faster than they fill
• Use a sequential or distinct color palette where earlier stages are visually distinguishable from later stages
• Include a legend identifying each workflow stage
• X-axis should display date labels at reasonable intervals

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Next: Add approved label to merge this specification to main.

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🤖 spec-create workflow

[github-actions]

🚀 Specification Merged!

Specification: area-cumulative-flow
PR: #5254 (merged)

The specification is now in main and synced to PostgreSQL.

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Next: Add generate:{library} labels to start generating implementations.

Available libraries: matplotlib, seaborn, plotly, bokeh, altair, plotnine, pygal, highcharts, letsplot

Or use workflow dispatch for bulk operations.

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🤖 spec-create workflow