What are a Burndown Chart, a Burnup Chart, and Velocity?

Summary

This video explains the concepts of burn down and burn up charts, which measure project progress over time, commonly used in Agile methodologies. A burn down chart tracks the remaining work, displaying a downward slope as tasks are completed, while a burn up chart tracks completed work, showing an upward slope. The video also introduces velocity, which measures the rate at which work is done in Agile cycles. Velocity helps predict future work capacity but should not be used to assess team efficiency or performance. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding these metrics for effective project management.

Takeaways

• 📉 Burn down charts show outstanding work versus time, with progress reducing as work is completed, creating a downward slope.
• 📈 Burn up charts display completed work versus time, with progress increasing, resulting in an upward slope.
• 🔄 Burn down charts are typically used to track progress on a single iteration or sprint, while burn up charts summarize progress on the entire project.
• 📆 Time in burn charts can be measured by days, iterations, or sprints, while work units are often in hours or story points.
• 📐 An ideal work curve can be plotted at the beginning of a cycle, helping to compare planned versus actual progress on the burn chart.
• ⚖️ If the actual burn down is above the ideal line, the project is lagging. If below, the team is ahead of schedule and may consider adding more work.
• 🚀 Velocity measures the rate at which work is completed, helping to estimate future work and plan sprints accordingly.
• 🛠 Velocity is calculated as completed work divided by time elapsed, typically over an iteration or sprint.
• 📊 Using historical velocity data improves estimates for the number of story points a team can tackle in future sprints.
• 🚫 Velocity is not an efficiency measure and should not be used as a KPI or performance metric for teams.

Q & A

What are burn down charts and burn up charts?

Burn down charts plot the remaining work against time, showing a downward trend as work is completed. Burn up charts plot completed work against time, showing an upward trend as more work is finished.

How does a burn down chart indicate progress?

In a burn down chart, as work is completed, the remaining work decreases, leading to a downward slope. If the actual progress line is above the ideal line, it means the project is behind schedule. If it’s below, the team is ahead of schedule.

What does a burn up chart represent?

A burn up chart represents the amount of completed work over time, showing an upward slope as more work is finished. It helps to visualize overall progress throughout a project.

In what context are burn down and burn up charts commonly used?

Burn down and burn up charts are commonly used in agile project management to track progress. Burn down charts are often used for tracking progress in individual iterations or sprints, while burn up charts are typically used to summarize progress over the entire project.

What are the typical time units used in burn charts?

The time units in burn charts can represent days for a single sprint or iteration, or longer periods such as multiple iterations or sprints.

What work units are typically plotted on burn down and burn up charts?

Work units on burn charts are often measured in estimated hours of work or story points.

What is velocity in agile project management?

Velocity measures the rate at which work is completed, typically calculated as the amount of work (in story points) completed divided by the time elapsed in a sprint or iteration. It helps estimate the capacity for future sprints.

Why can't velocity be used to measure efficiency?

Velocity does not measure efficiency because it lacks a baseline for comparison in a project environment. It is meant for estimating progress and planning future work rather than assessing the efficiency of a team.

How should velocity data be used for planning future work?

Velocity data from previous sprints helps estimate how many story points can be completed in upcoming sprints. Averaging velocity over multiple sprints gives a more reliable measure of future capacity.

Why might early sprint data be excluded from velocity calculations?

Early sprint data may be excluded because the team is still learning to work together and refining their processes. As the project progresses, excluding early data can provide a more accurate reflection of the team's stabilized velocity.