If I move a card from active back to new, will the clock still run until it's closed even if they are set back to new

Question

If I move a card from active back to new in Azure, will the clock still run to report the aging in the metrics until it's closed even if they are set back to new?

Answer 1

When you move a card from the Active state back to the New state in Azure DevOps, the cycle time will still include the entire active work period, which means it will account for the time the work item was in the Active state. However, once the work item is set back to New, the clock for cycle time will not continue to run until it is closed again. The cycle time calculation starts from the first time the work item enters an In Progress or Resolved state and ends the final time it enters a Completed state category. Therefore, the aging metrics will reflect the time spent in the Active state before it was moved back to New, but will not continue to accumulate time while it is in the New state until it is moved back to an active state again.

---

References:

• How cycle time handles reactivated work items

Answer 2

Hi @DIETRICH M EVEGE

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Cycle Time OR Aging behavior

Cycle time starts the first time a work item enters an Active OR In Progress (or Resolved) state category.

If you move the item back to New, cycle time pauses.

When the item later moves to Active again, the clock resumes, and Azure DevOps adds up all Active periods.

Cycle time ends only when the item finally enters a Completed OR Closed state.

So:

Time spent earlier in Active is counted

Time spent in New is NOT counted

Metrics do not reset when you move back to New

Example timeline

New - Active (5 days) - New (3 days) - Active (2 days) - Closed

Cycle Time reported = 7 days

The 3 days in New are ignored for cycle time

The item is still treated as one continuous lifecycle

What this means for your reports & dashboards

Aging or Cycle Time widgets

Show accumulated Active time only, even if the card moves back to New

Kanban Aging charts (WIP age)

Reflect current in-progress age, not paused New-state time

Rework visibility

You’ll still see longer cycle times if items bounce in and out of Active