Scrum teams generally use the burndown chart to communicate and track their overall progress throughout the Release lifetime. It is a must-have tool, especially for Scrum teams, to quickly monitor the product’s overall scope while maintaining a schedule for their release progress. Furthermore, it helps teams compare the planned work versus the obtained work in a measurable way. A burndown chart of any kind usually helps represent a proper measurement of the actual performance versus the planned performance in a measurable format. In this case, a burndown chart can be defined as a tracking tool that celebrates the Scrum team’s progress across every release cycle. It’s a measure of the team’s collective efforts during the product release or development. As these charts are updated frequently by Product Owners, they are a powerful tool for predicting whether the Scrum team will meet the product release goal they have set.
The burndown chart is measured graphically. The y-axis shows the story hours or points, whereas the x-axis shows the time the Scrum team members used, that is, the number of Sprints. Using a burndown chart, the team can confidently predict the speed at which they are working through the entire backlog of the Release. The release burndown chart depicts the amount of work added or removed during the sprint, and the number of Sprints (or time) your team will require to complete the product for a Release. Ideal work is shown by the actual (or estimated) amount of effort remaining for the team to burndown. It is denoted by a straight line from the top of the y-axis to the x-axis. Real work is shown by the amount of remaining effort differing every day. The line shows a downward spike when a task is completed (or less work to be done) and an upward spike when a task is added (more work to be done). Real work is shown by a hazard line that depicts the real remaining work required to complete the project. In the beginning, the natural and ideal effort lines remain the same. As projects take off, the actual effort fluctuates – either above or below the ideal effort. If the natural effort line is above the ideal, more work is left to be done than initially thought to be during the ideal effort estimation process. However, if the natural effort line goes below the ideal effort line, less work is left to be done, and the Release is ahead of the schedule. The upward spike in the natural effort line also denotes any changes made to the project timeframe or solving any product-related issues, which will easily take up more time than was estimated earlier.
Since the burndown chart is all about showing the data in terms of visual representation, it helps keep everyone on the same page. Moreover, the chart’s visibility to all team members helps keep them encouraged and optimistic. The chart empowers them to stay involved and deal with any issues before they become significant problems. The chart’s size directly correlates with how much information it can provide, making it a valuable tool for the team. The chart should always be the focal point of the workplace, guiding all team conversations towards the product and its progress. The burndown chart is also beneficial, primarily because of its simplicity. The chart shows the project’s overall velocity.
The primary limitation of a burndown chart is that it only reveals some things taking place throughout the product lifecycle. For instance, any change in the burndown chart doesn’t reveal the reason for the same. Such a limiting factor can prevent the overall transparency of the work. Moreover, the burndown chart must reveal whether the Scrum team is working on the correct thing. The chart only shows the progress trend. Tracking progress will not suggest whether time and effort are spent appropriately. Lastly, it’s important to note that burndown charts are only as reliable as the estimations they’re based on. The ideal effort line is a projection, and if the real effort line deviates significantly from it, it could indicate a severe misappropriation of resources. Consequently, this underscores the need for accurate and realistic estimations when creating the ideal effort line.
A burndown chart would be advantageous for any organisation in maintaining an innovative and steady approach to getting the job done and obtaining the product goal. Progress can be identified quickly, and any obstacles can be solved beforehand so that they do not hinder the overall procedure.
