What is Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart?
Cumulative Flow Diagram Chart is a Jira dashboard app that helps teams visualizes how work moves through their workflow over time.
The CFD chart uses stacked bands to represent statuses, board columns or other selected dimensions. It helps teams monitor WIP, backlog growth, flow distribution, workflow stability and potential bottlenecks.
What does a Cumulative Flow Diagram show?
A CFD shows how much work was present in each workflow stage at different points in time.
Each colored band represents a status, category or board column. The width of the band indicates how much work was in that stage during a specific period.
Who is the Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart app designed for?
The app is useful for Scrum and Kanban teams, Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Product Owners, Project Managers, Delivery Managers, Engineering Leads, DevOps teams, ITSM and support teams, RTEs and PMOs.
Can I use the Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart with Scrum teams?
Yes. Scrum teams can use the CFD to monitor how work progresses during a sprint, identify stages where sprint work accumulates and determine whether work is moving steadily toward completion.
With the Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart, you can use a specific sprint as a data source and display data for the latest sprint or the previous sprint.
Can I use the Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart with Kanban teams?
Yes. A Cumulative Flow Diagram is especially useful for Kanban teams because it shows WIP, queues and flow stability across the entire workflow.
Kanban teams can use it to identify bottlenecks, detect growing backlogs and determine whether work intake and completion remain balanced.
Can I use the Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart for SAFe®, ITSM or custom workflows?
Yes. The Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) Chart can be adapted to SAFe®, ITSM, service desk and custom Jira workflows.
Use boards, saved filters, JQL, epics or portfolio-level work items to define the scope you want to analyze.
Is a free trial available?
Yes. You can start a free 30-day trial from the app’s listing on the Atlassian Marketplace.
Do I need Jira administrator permissions to use the gadgets?
A Jira administrator is generally required to install the app. After installation, users with permission to create or edit Jira dashboards can add and configure the gadgets.
Users must also have permission to view the Jira work items, projects, boards and filters used by the gadgets.
Do I need to know JQL?
No. You can configure the gadgets using a Jira board, saved filter, epics or portfolio-level work items.
JQL is available as an additional option when you need more precise control over the work items included in the calculation.
Which data sources can I use?
Depending on the gadget, you can use:
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An agile board
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A saved Jira filter
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A JQL query
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A selected sprint
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One or more epics
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One or more portfolio-level work items, such as initiatives or themes
Can I analyze multiple projects or teams?
Yes. Create a saved filter or JQL query that returns work items from the required projects or teams and use it as the data source.
You can also use epics or portfolio-level work items to analyze flow across a broader delivery initiative.
Can I include sub-tasks?
Yes. Enable Include sub-tasks if you want sub-tasks to be included in the calculation.
What can the CFD bands represent?
You can create chart bands based on:
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Jira status categories
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Individual workflow statuses
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Board columns
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Board-column categories
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Work item types
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Values of another supported Jira field
What is the difference between status categories, statuses and board columns?
Status categories group the workflow into three high-level stages: To Do, In Progress and Done.
Statuses provide a more detailed view by displaying a separate band for each Jira workflow status.
Board columns display the workflow according to the way statuses are mapped on the selected Jira board.
Choose the option that provides the appropriate level of detail for your audience.
How can the amount of work be calculated?
The CFD can calculate work using:
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Work Item Count
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Story Points
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Original Time Estimate
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Another numerical custom field
Can I display the CFD chart as a percentage?
Yes. Enable Show as percentage of total to display how work is distributed across the chart bands as a proportion of the total.
This is useful when you want to compare flow distribution independently of changes in the total amount of work.
Can I exclude chart bands in the Cumulative Flow Diagram Chart?
Yes. Use Exclude these bands to remove workflow stages or categories that are not relevant to your analysis.
Can I change the order of the bands in the Cumulative Flow Diagram Chart?
Yes. Enable Display bands in this custom order and specify the order in which the bands should appear.
Bands that are not included in the custom list will still be displayed after the specified bands.