PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Practice Exam 2026 - Free Agile Certified Practitioner Practice Questions and Study Guide

The term that differentiates between the total time taken for a process and the actual time spent producing a product is lead time. Lead time encompasses the entirety of the process from the initiation of a task to its completion, including any waiting or idle times that may occur. This makes it a key metric in understanding how long it takes to fulfill a request or delivery.

In contrast, cycle time specifically refers to the time taken to complete a work item or task once production begins, not accounting for delays or wait times that may precede the execution of that work. Throughput time, similar to cycle time, focuses on the time taken for a product to be produced once it has started but does not encompass the entire process as lead time does. Response time typically relates to the time between receiving a request and responding to it, which is not directly applicable to the production timeline.

Overall, lead time is the most suitable term for capturing all phases of a process, from start to finish, including the non-value-adding activities in between.