Please remember that velocity is not an absolute metric. Story points are estimated based on Fibonacci sequence numbers to indicate a given feature’s complexity. Each team has its estimation standard. In software development, velocity refers to how fast a team can turn user stories into working software. In a nutshell, velocity is the team’s rate of progress. In a Sprint, velocity is defined as the number of stories completed based on their estimated sizes during the sprint. Using velocity, a team calculates its productivity and sets expectations for delivery.
Team size affects velocity. The size of a team depends on whether time pressure or cost is foremost, so there is no single “ideal” size. This means that a five-person team’s velocity cannot be used to predict the velocity of another team.
Velocity forecasts must also consider team capacity, which represents the total amount of time each member has available. After calculating the number of hours each person will spend during the sprint, the total number of hours can be calculated.
The first sprint determines a baseline velocity. It may be helpful for the team to complete a few sprints and then estimate velocity based on the observed velocity during a few iterations. According to previous results, one can use the team’s velocity to predict how many story points will be completed in the coming Sprints and adjust the number of Sprints needed to complete the Product Backlog.
An accumulation of undesirable decisions in a codebase is called technical debt in software engineering. In writing code, teams resort to quick fixes rather than better approaches that take longer. Nevertheless, the compromise seems reasonable. Nevertheless, unwanted decisions in the codebase accumulate and require rework (technical debt). Whether deliberate or unintentional, these choices result in hard-to-maintain code, reduced product longevity, and slowed team performance.
The product owner will present the prioritized backlog in the sprint planning meeting, and sprint backlog items will be estimated using tools such as Planning Poker and Story Points. Baseline velocity is the sum of approved work. Scrum considers a backlog item fully completed once the product owner accepts it. When the sprint review meeting is held, stories that have yet to be completed will not count towards the velocity.
Forecasting the sprint based on team capacity and historical velocity data is crucial, as velocity is not constant.
