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Change Throughput

ContributorsMyles Henaghan

When to use: Deliberately invoke in Agent mode against a git repository to produce a point-in-time read on Lead Time For Changes (LTFC) and Deployment Frequency (DF), plus the contributor mix behind them. Re-run periodically (e.g. monthly) to track delivery throughput and set or check a per-active-contributor benchmark.

Instructions

  1. Read references/change-throughput-prompt.md and follow the scope gate before any history commands.
  2. Prefer the bundled scripts under scripts/ — stdlib only; no network and no writes to the target repo unless the user asks to save the report.
  3. Run the unit tests before trusting engine output: python -m unittest test_metrics.py from scripts/.
  4. Confirm the deploy trigger: merge frequency is DF only when a merge to the trunk deploys. Otherwise relabel as integration frequency.
  5. Write the report as a single markdown document. If asked to save it, use docs/change-throughput-YYYY-MM.md in the target repo.

What this diagnostic covers

View What it answers
Throughput LTFC (first commit → merge to trunk) and DF (merges per week / work-day), split into meaningful vs micro changes
Contributor mix Who is genuinely active vs occasional; concentration / bus-factor
Benchmark check Actual vs 1 good change per N active contributors per work-day (default N=2)

References

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause Fix
Zero PRs in window Host does not write pull request #N merge subjects Enumerate merges another way or widen subject matching
Inflated contributor count Same person under multiple git identities Extend AUTHOR_ALIASES in metrics.py for the target project
DF mislabelled Merges do not deploy Relabel as integration frequency; note the real deploy gate
Distorted LTFC History rewriting Check author vs committer dates; flag rebase/squash risk