Timetoproduction

Timetoproduction is a metric used in manufacturing and software development to measure the latency between a product or feature being authorized for production and its actual entry into production. The starting point and ending point may vary by organization, but common definitions anchor the start at design release or production readiness approval and the end at first production run, shipment, or live deployment. The concept emphasizes the bridge time from planning to operational capability, aiding capacity planning, scheduling, and risk assessment.

In manufacturing, the starting point is typically a design release or BOM release, and the endpoint is the first run of production on the line, a pilot batch, or full-scale deployment to customers. It encompasses tooling, process validation, quality gates, regulatory approvals, and any supply chain adjustments that are part of bringing a product to production.

In software development and DevOps, timetoproduction refers to the interval from a code commit or feature freeze to deployment in production. It is related to, but distinct from, lead time and deployment frequency, and is often tracked as part of continuous delivery metrics.

Measurement considerations include defining clear start and end events, ensuring consistent data sources (ERP, MES, change management systems, version control, deployment pipelines), and normalising across teams. It can be reported per product, per release, or per feature.

Use and limitations: timetoproduction helps plan capacity, set expectations, and identify bottlenecks, but can incentivize speed over quality or lead to misalignment if definitions differ across teams. It should be interpreted alongside related metrics such as lead time, cycle time, time to market, and quality metrics.