Burndown Chart
In short
A burndown chart is a graph that shows how much work remains in a sprint or release over time, so a team can see at a glance whether it is on track to finish.
What is a burndown chart?
A burndown chart is a simple graph of remaining work over time. The vertical axis shows the work left, measured in story points, tasks, or hours, and the horizontal axis shows the days of a sprint or the sprints of a release. If things go well, the line burns down to zero by the end, and a straight diagonal ideal line from the starting total to zero shows the pace needed to finish on time.
Each day the team, or its tracking tool, records how much work is left and adds a point to the chart. When the actual line stays above the ideal line, the team is behind; when it is below, the team is ahead. A flat stretch means nothing was finished, often because work is stuck in progress or blocked, and a sudden rise means new work was added. A sprint burndown tracks one sprint day by day, while a release burndown tracks the remaining points across several sprints.
A burndown chart is like a fuel gauge on a road trip: one glance tells you whether you will reach the destination or need to change something. Teams look at it during daily standups and sprint reviews because it makes progress visible without a status report. It is most honest when it counts only work that is fully done, because counting half-finished items hides risk until the last days of the sprint.
A burndown chart is often confused with a burnup chart. A burnup chart shows completed work rising toward a separate line for total scope, so it makes added scope obvious, while a burndown mixes progress and scope changes into one line. A burndown is also different from velocity: velocity is how much work gets done per sprint, while a burndown shows how much remains within a timeframe. Either way, the chart is a conversation starter for the team, not a performance measure.
Key takeaways
- A burndown chart plots remaining work against time.
- An ideal line from the total to zero shows the required pace.
- Flat stretches suggest blocked work; upward jumps mean added scope.
- Sprint burndowns track days; release burndowns track sprints.
- A burnup chart shows completed work and total scope as separate lines.
Example
Sprint 14 burndown: 40 story points committed, 10 working days
Day 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ideal 40 36 32 28 24 20 16 12 8 4 0
Actual 40 38 33 33 33 27 22 16 11 6 2
Days 2-4: the actual line is flat, so a story was probably blocked.
Day 10: 2 points remain, so one small story returns to the product backlog.Readers ask
What is the difference between a burndown chart and a burnup chart?
A burndown chart shows remaining work going down toward zero. A burnup chart shows completed work going up toward a separate total-scope line, which makes it easier to see when scope was added.
What does a flat line on a burndown chart mean?
It means no work was completed during that period. Common causes are blocked items, too much work in progress at once, or tasks that are too large to finish in a day or two.
See also
- VelocityTeams & Process, p. 31Velocity is the amount of work an Agile team completes in one sprint, usually the total story points of finished items, used to forecast future sprints.
- SprintTeams & Process, p. 26A sprint is a fixed-length period of one month or less, often two weeks, in which a Scrum team works toward one goal and produces a usable product increment.
- Story PointsTeams & Process, p. 28Story points are a unit Agile teams use to estimate the relative size of work items, combining complexity, amount of work, and uncertainty rather than hours.
- Daily StandupTeams & Process, p. 6A daily standup is a short daily meeting, usually 15 minutes or less, where a team checks progress toward its goal, plans the day, and raises blockers.
- ScrumTeams & Process, p. 21Scrum is an Agile framework in which a small team delivers a product in fixed-length cycles called sprints, using defined roles, events, and artifacts.
- Product BacklogTeams & Process, p. 17The product backlog is a single ordered list of everything a team might do to improve a product, such as features, fixes, and technical work.
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