AGILE QUESTIONS
Incomplete work at the end of a sprint and calculating velocity
Let’s say in Sprint 1 you have planned stories for 10 story points, but only stories for 5 SP (story points) are finished. On the next sprint you plan 15 story points (the team feels confident it’s doable), and that 15 is the sum of all original estimates on the user stories. But counting the actual remaining work it’s just 10 SP. All stories are finished in Sprint 2.
What’s the achieved velocity in Sprint 1 and in Sprint 2?
My line of thinking:
- In sprint 1 it’s 5 story points
- In sprint 2 it’s 10 story points. From my perspective it’s wrong to count work from previous sprints as work done in current sprint.
Let me know what you think.
Product Owner / Lublin, Poland
Agile coaches answer:
The velocity is a tool only for the Development Team. They can use it to get a feeling of how much they can do in a Sprint and with that value forecast the next Sprint(s).
Therefore I agree with your line of thinking. The amount of work a Development Team is able to finish in a Sprint is not something they “earn”, like bonus points. It is just there to give them a feeling for the next forecasts.
But if a Development Team chooses to count the original points, that is fine as well - if it helps them.
If it is a measurement of their progress or success, then you should work with the organization and the team to create a better understanding about velocity and bring it to its original meaning.
Answer by Peter Götz