Scrum guide · Artifacts and practices
Velocity in Scrum: How to Calculate and Use It
Velocity is the amount of work a Scrum Team completes in a Sprint, usually measured in story points. It is a planning aid for the team, not a measure of productivity.
Key takeaways
- Velocity is completed story points per Sprint.
- Use averages for planning and forecasting.
- Never compare teams or set velocity targets.
How to calculate it
- At the end of the Sprint, add up the story points of all items that meet the Definition of Done.
- Exclude partially finished items entirely.
- Track the number over several Sprints.
- Use the average of the last three to five Sprints for planning.
Benefits
- Helps the team decide how much to take into a Sprint.
- Supports release forecasts: remaining points ÷ average velocity.
- Reveals changes, such as a drop after team members leave.
Limits and misuse
- Velocity is specific to one team; never compare teams.
- Targets for velocity lead to inflated estimates.
- It measures output, not value or outcomes.
- It becomes unreliable when team membership changes often.
Velocity chart
Plot committed and completed points per Sprint as bars. Look for stability rather than growth. See velocity charts.
Free templates for this topic
Frequently asked questions
Is velocity a Scrum metric?
Velocity isn't defined in the Scrum Guide, but it is widely used by Scrum teams.
Should velocity increase over time?
Not necessarily. Stable velocity is more useful than rising velocity, which often reflects estimate inflation.
What is velocity in Scrum?
The amount of work a Scrum Team completes in a Sprint, usually the sum of story points for items that meet the Definition of Done.
How do you calculate velocity?
Add up the story points of all items that meet the Definition of Done at the end of the Sprint, excluding partly finished items. Average the last three to five Sprints for planning.
What is a good velocity?
There is no good number. Velocity is relative to each team's estimation scale, so a stable, predictable velocity matters more than its size.
Why does velocity drop?
Common reasons include holidays, team changes, unplanned work, growing technical debt and harder items. Discuss sustained drops in the Retrospective.
How do you forecast a release with velocity?
Divide the remaining story points by average velocity. For example, 120 points at about 24 per Sprint is roughly five Sprints; use a range from slower and faster Sprints for an honest forecast.
Should partly done stories count towards velocity?
No. Only items that meet the Definition of Done count. Unfinished items return to the Product Backlog and count in the Sprint they are completed.
What is a velocity chart?
A bar chart showing planned and completed points per Sprint, used to see trends and stability. See Agile velocity chart.
Can managers use velocity to measure productivity?
They should not. Velocity measures output in team-specific units, and using it as a target leads to inflated estimates rather than more value.
What is the difference between velocity and capacity?
Velocity is what the team actually completed in past Sprints; capacity is how much time the team has available in the coming Sprint. Teams use both in Sprint Planning.