What is a burndown chart?
A burndown chart is the visual representation of the work completed and the work that remains for a project. Typically, these charts are created by program or project managers to determine an estimated timeline of project events.
The components of a burndown chart:
- The y-axis (vertical) represents the user story points
- The x-axis (horizontal) represents time
- Predicted work remaining line
- Actual work progress line
Burndown chart example
Agile burndown chart
Burndown charts are used in Agile software development and sprints to visualize how quickly the team is working by showing the user stories against the time available. This allows the project manager to understand the team's pace or velocity to predict performance.
Product burndowns focus on the entire project or product release, showing how many of the goals of the project are achieved and how much.
Sprint burndowns focus on the sprint, using the workload or user stories for a sprint planning meeting to measure performance for the sprint.
Why are burndown charts important?
Outside of providing a measurement of performance and the velocity of the team, burndown charts answer some questions that commonly get asked of scrum teams.
- How much work do we have at a specific moment in time?
- How much work is remaining?
- How fast is the team closing work?
- Is the project in danger of missing the projected date?
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