One of the most important metrics in developing software through an Agile method is the cycle time. This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is best described as the total time that has elapsed from the time work has started until completion of the task. Or in IT, the time it takes to get an idea implemented on production. 

Before Agile project management, tools such as Microsoft Project were used to keep track of time. Nowadays, guesstimates are not entered in a project anymore, but other things such as risk and velocity are calculated in story points and they are used to plan some weeks ahead.

In GitLab, there is a place to measure cycle times: cycle analytics. It means you have to use GitLab's project management features and it is available in all editions. The following image is an example of cycle analytics for the GitLab CE project. Notice that it takes about a month for an idea to go into production (which corresponds nicely with its actual release cycle):

We can use cycle analytics later in the project to check how well GitLab is used and what velocity the development team has.