Definition of a Lagging indicator
In Scrum with Kanban, various metrics are used to evaluate how well your team is performing. These metrics are referred to as indicators. There are two types: ‘Lagging indicators’ and ‘Leading indicators’.
A ‘Lagging indicator’ shows you something after it has already occurred. Thus they are based on past events, not what is happening now. They inform you about results that have already been achieved. An example is Cycle Time, which shows how long it took to complete a task.
These ‘Lagging indicators’ are known as such. The opposite of this is a ‘Leading indicator‘, which attempts to predict what will happen.