Burndown Chart
A Burndown Chart is a graphical representation of work remaining versus time in a Sprint or release, showing whether the team is on track to complete the planned work.
Explanation
A Burndown Chart plots the amount of remaining work (typically in story points or hours) on the Y-axis against time (days in the sprint) on the X-axis. An ideal trend line slopes downward from the total planned work to zero by the end of the sprint. The actual line shows the team's real progress.
If the actual line is above the ideal line, the team is behind schedule. If it is below, the team is ahead. The chart makes it immediately visible whether the team is on track and is typically updated daily. It is one of the most commonly used information radiators in agile.
Burndown Charts can be created at the sprint level (Sprint Burndown) to track daily progress within a sprint, or at the release level (Release Burndown) to track progress across multiple sprints toward a release goal. Both provide transparency and support empirical process control.
Key Points
- •Plots remaining work versus time
- •Ideal line slopes from total planned work to zero
- •Updated daily to provide real-time visibility
- •Available at sprint level and release level
Exam Tip
A burndown chart shows remaining work trending toward zero. If you see a chart trending upward, it indicates scope is being added faster than work is being completed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Burnup Chart
A Burnup Chart is a graphical representation that shows the amount of work completed over time alongside the total scope, making it easy to see both progress and scope changes.
Velocity
Velocity is the amount of work a Scrum team completes in a Sprint, typically measured in story points, used to forecast how much work the team can handle in future sprints.
Information Radiators
Information Radiators are highly visible displays of project information placed in prominent locations where the team and stakeholders can easily see them, promoting transparency and communication without requiring active effort.
Sprint
A Sprint is a fixed-length timebox of one month or less in Scrum during which the team creates a usable, potentially releasable product Increment.
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Sprint Review
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Sprint Backlog
The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus the Sprint Goal and the plan for delivering the Increment.
Timeboxing
Timeboxing is the practice of allocating a fixed, maximum amount of time for an activity, after which the activity stops regardless of whether it is complete.
Resource Leveling
Resource leveling is a resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to keep resource usage at or below a defined limit, often resulting in a longer project duration.
Risk Register
The risk register is a project document that records the details of individual project risks, including their identification, analysis results, response plans, and current status.
Stakeholder Mapping
Stakeholder mapping is the visual representation of stakeholder relationships, influence, interest, or other attributes using grids, matrices, or diagrams to support analysis and engagement planning.
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
Cost Performance Index (CPI) is an EVM efficiency metric that measures cost performance as the ratio of earned value to actual cost: CPI = EV / AC.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is an EVM efficiency metric that measures schedule performance as the ratio of earned value to planned value: SPI = EV / PV.
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