A key performance and value metric in product development is "time to market". This is generally the length of time between when a product is conceived and when it is actually earning revenue in the market. Time to market is important because, once a new product opportunity is identified then the race is on to realise it as soon as possible. New product opportunities will typically translate to new revenues and new EBIT; better product development processes bring in these benefits faster - with no compromise in quality, entry timing or flexibility. Speed is important because anything on the critical path to realising a benefit adds a time-cost to that benefit. As a rule of thumb, one month delay in the time-to-benefit will cost around 2% of the net present value (NPV) of the project or product.

This concept applies beyond product development to any project that pursues bottom line improvements be they revenue gains or cost reductions.  It is a representation of the consequential impact of unnecessary delays above the beyond the direct cost of time wasted.