Burndown charts graph work remaining vs time. They were originally used for tracking work in Sprints and across releases. Sprint Burndowns that track hours of task work remaining are usually considered an anti-pattern now. Instead, try limiting Work in Progress. Tracking (if required at all) can be done at the level of completed tasks or, better, completed User Stories. Burndowns for release imply the Product Backlog has fixed contents and we’re only releasing every few months. Look instead at a Cumulative Flow Diagram to help improve flow.
Scrum by Example – The Trouble with Sprint Burndowns
Red-Yellow-Green Status Reports and Other Models – How They Should and Shouldn’t Be Used
Resource Links:
- Hours-Remaining Burndown Charts: An Agile Anti-Pattern?
- Why Burn-up Chart Is Better Than Burn-down Chart
See Also:
Mark Levison has been helping Scrum teams and organizations with Agile, Scrum and Kanban style approaches since 2001. From certified scrum master training to custom Agile courses, he has helped well over 8,000 individuals, earning him respect and top rated reviews as one of the pioneers within the industry, as well as a raft of certifications from the ScrumAlliance. Mark has been a speaker at various Agile Conferences for more than 20 years, and is a published Scrum author with eBooks as well as articles on InfoQ.com, ScrumAlliance.org an AgileAlliance.org.
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