How we reduced MR review time with Value Stream Management

GitLab has effectively used its own Value Stream Management (VSM) tools to enhance their engineering team's efficiency by addressing challenges in the merge request (MR) review process. The team faced issues in identifying bottlenecks that caused delays from idea conception to MR completion, and by employing Value Stream Analytics (VSA), they were able to track and analyze the MR review time precisely. Customizing their VSA to include a new stage called Review Time to Merge, they measured the duration from when the first reviewer was assigned to when the MR was merged. This allowed them to visualize the time spent in the MR review process, identify delays such as late reviewer assignments, slow review start times, multiple feedback loops, and idle time after approval, and implement improvements. These data-driven insights not only optimized the MR review cycle, boosting developer productivity, but also prompted GitLab to develop enhancements to further refine visibility into the review process, showcasing the power of dogfooding and continuous improvement.

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