What is a burndown chart
By graphing user stories against time, burndown charts graphically demonstrate how quickly a team progresses in a project. Since it’s designed with the end-user in mind, the chart is only updated once a user narrative has been completed successfully. A burndown chart can track a team’s velocity and attempt to predict their performance.
Burndown charts in agile projects are often categorized into two groups: product burndown charts and sprint burndown charts.
What Are Product Burndown Charts?
Product burndown charts depict the entire project and focus on the broader picture. The graph shows how many of a team’s product goals have been met so far and how much work remains. The horizontal part displays the sprint number, while the vertical position illustrates the story points rather than dates.
What Are Sprint Burndown Charts?
The sprint burndown chart shows the progress of the current sprints solely. It indicates user stories based on those chosen by the team during the sprint planning session. Unlike the product chart, this burndown chart measures performance using days on the horizontal axis.
For, most product teams track their progress using a combination of product and sprint burndown charts. It can be located in a central office location or shared digitally with everyone to keep operations transparent and all stakeholders are up to date on the team’s current standings.
The Advantages of Using Burndown Charts
● The burndown chart’s most important feature is its versatility and simplicity. Even if things aren’t going well in your project, you may gather a lot of information from this chart. The chart also shows a direct comparison of planned and actual progress, so you can notice right away if things aren’t going as intended.
● Burndown charts’ visual portrayal is a significant aid in maintaining successful teamwork. Managers must keep their teams informed and on the same page. A burndown chart gives progress reports and takes little time to create and read, making it simple for everyone to keep track of.
● A burndown chart can also be a great way to keep team members motivated. It keeps everyone engaged, and the constant comparison of members’ performance to ideal performance on the graph motivates them to perform consistently. The burndown chart is frequently the main point in most agile companies since it keeps everyone updated and focused on their jobs.
Burnup Charts Vs. Burndown Charts
Another popular way to illustrate a project is to use burnup charts. Burnup charts and burndown charts are similar because they use the same coordinate system. However, a burndown chart indicates all of the remaining work, while a burnup chart illustrates how far you’ve come thus far.
Unlike burndown charts, which progress downhill, burnup charts begin at the bottom and ascend upward. A distinct scope line on burnup charts reveals how far your product is from the requirement. The burnup chart’s progress line should meet the scope at the end of a successful project.
Burndown charts win when it comes to simplicity. On the other hand, Burnup charts provide additional information and can alert you to changes in scope in advance. After the iteration is over, burndown charts will only show changes in features and scope. You may plan for scope modifications and enhance your efforts to reach the deadline with burnup charts.
