What is Pull Request Cycle Time?
The time from opening a pull request to merging it, broken into stages.
Definition
Pull request cycle time measures how long a PR takes from open to merge, usually split into four stages: time to first review, time to approval, rework time, and merge time. It is the most granular, developer-facing view of delivery flow.
How it’s measured
Derive timestamps from your code host (GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket): opened, first review, approved, merged. The gaps between them expose where PRs stall.
What good looks like
Healthy teams get a first review within a few hours and merge within a day or two. The biggest drag is usually "pickup time" — PRs sitting unreviewed.
Why it matters
Most delivery delay hides in review, not coding. Measuring PR cycle time by stage tells you exactly where to intervene — reviewer load, PR size, or batching — to speed delivery without pushing people harder.
Related terms
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