Velocity and sprint planning

Estimates are only useful if they help the team plan. Velocity is how story points turn into a plan: it tells you roughly how much work fits in a sprint and roughly when a set of work will be done.

What velocity is

Velocity is the number of story points a team completes in a sprint. Only finished work counts: a story that is 90% done at the end of the sprint adds nothing until it meets the definition of done.

A single sprint tells you little. Use the average of the last three to five sprints, and expect it to move around from sprint to sprint.

Planning a sprint

1. Start from your usual velocity. If the last few sprints were 26, 31 and 29, plan for about 28.
2. Adjust for the sprint. Fewer working days because of holidays or training means less capacity. Reduce the number in proportion.
3. Pull in estimated stories in priority order until you reach that number. Stop there, even if one more small story looks tempting.
4. Check it feels right. Velocity is a guide. If the team thinks the plan is too much, listen to them.

Forecasting a release

To estimate when a set of work will be finished, divide the points left by the team's velocity. 120 points left at about 30 points a sprint is about four sprints.

Give a range, not a date: use the team's slowest and fastest recent sprints to show the earliest and latest likely finish. The range also reminds everyone that the estimate will change as the team learns more.

Traps to avoid

• Comparing teams by velocity. Each team has its own scale, so a higher number doesn't mean a faster team.
• Pushing velocity up. When velocity becomes a target, estimates inflate and the plan stops meaning anything.
• Re-estimating finished work. Keep the estimate the team gave before starting. Changing it afterwards hides what the team learned.
• Counting unfinished work. Partly done stories carry over and count in the sprint they are finished.

Where EstimateIt fits

EstimateIt is for agreeing the estimates. As the team agrees each one, the room totals the points, for developers and QA separately if you estimate that way. At the end, Copy summary or Copy as CSV takes the estimates into your backlog tool, where the team tracks what it completes and its velocity over time. EstimateIt doesn't track velocity across sprints itself.

Common questions

How do you calculate velocity in Scrum?

Add up the story points of the stories that were fully finished in a sprint. Use the average of the last three to five sprints for planning.

How many story points should a sprint have?

There is no right number. Plan for about your team's average velocity from recent sprints, adjusted for holidays and other time away.

Can you compare velocity between teams?

No. Each team sizes work on its own scale, so velocity only makes sense within one team over time.

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