Velocity Chart

Table of Content

What is a Velocity Chart?

A velocity chart is a graphic representation of the amount of work completed over time. It shows how much work has been accomplished in each iteration and can help you track your team's progress. The y-axis typically represents the number of story points completed each sprint, and the x-axis represents time. 

A velocity chart can help you specifically answer the following questions:

  • How much work was completed in each sprint?
  • What is the team's average velocity?
  • How does the team's velocity change over time?
  • What possible factors contributed to high and low velocity points?
  • What is the estimated completion date for a project, based on the current velocity?

Why is a Velocity Chart Important?

A velocity chart is fundamental in agile software development. The Agile Manifesto prioritizes responding to change over following a plan, and the velocity chart is one way to help teams track their progress and make changes as needed. It allows teams to see how well they are doing and whether they need to adjust their practices.

The chart also helps project managers see the team's performance and identify areas of improvement in a more straightforward way. It provides insights into potential bottlenecks, which can help the manager troubleshoot and optimize the team's process before the project suffers.

Velocity charts provide a "big-picture" view of the team's progress and help identify when the team might need help or additional resources. The velocity chart is especially helpful in Scrum development, where teams are often self-organizing and cross-functional. 

Final Thoughts

A velocity chart is a graphic representation of the work completed during a sprint. The chart contains completed story points , the date they were completed, sprints, and estimation of the total story points. This provides a visual representation of how the team is progressing and allows comparison between sprints. 

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