The Daily Question 'Are we on track?
What is a Burndown Chart? A burndown chart is a visual representation of: Y-axis: Remaining work (story points or tasks) X-axis: Time (days in sprint) Simple visualization: 40 ┤● Start of sprint 35 ┤ ● Ideal pace (dotted) 30 ┤ ● ● Actual progress (solid) 25 ┤ \ ● 20 ┤ \ ●● 15 ┤ \ ● 10 ┤ \ ● 5 ┤ \ ● 0 ┤ \───● Sprint end └──────────────────────── 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ideal line: Straight diagonal from total points to zero Actual line: What's really happening One glance = you know if you're on track.
Reading a Burndown Scenario 1: On Track 40 ┤● 35 ┤ ● . 30 ┤ ● .
25 ┤ ● . 20 ┤ ● .
15 ┤ ● . 10 ┤ ● .
5 ┤ ● . 0 ┤ ● .
Actual (●) follows ideal (.). Sprint is healthy.
No action needed. Scenario 2: Behind 40 ┤● 35 ┤ ● .
30 ┤ ● . 25 ┤ ● .
20 ┤ ● . 15 ┤ ● .
10 ┤ ● . 5 ┤ ● .
0 ┤ . Actual (●) above ideal (.).
Won't finish on time. Action: Reduce scope or address blockers.
Scenario 3: Ahead 40 ┤● 35 ┤ . 30 ┤ ●.
25 ┤ . 20 ┤ ● .
15 ┤ . 10 ┤ ● .
5 ┤ . 0 ┤ ● .
Actual (●) below ideal (.). Will finish early.
Action: Can pull more work from backlog. Scenario 4: Flat Line 40 ┤●───────────● 35 ┤ .
30 ┤ . 25 ┤ .
20 ┤ . 15 ┤ .
10 ┤ . 5 ┤ .
0 ┤ . Actual (●) horizontal.
No progress. Sprint is blocked.
Major red flag. Action: Immediate intervention needed.
Scenario 5: Scope Creep 40 ┤● 45 ┤ ● (going UP!) 50 ┤ ● 45 ┤ ● 40 ┤ ● 35 ┤ . ● 30 ┤ .
● Line going UP means work is being added. Scope creep in progress.
Action: Stop adding work mid-sprint. Why Burndowns Work 1.
Visual = Instant Spreadsheet: 'Sprint has 12 items remaining out of 24, we're on day 6 of 10...' Burndown: One glance. 2 seconds.
2. Trends Over Points Raw numbers mislead: - '20 points done' (out of how many?
when?) - 'Only 10 left' (is that good or bad?) Burndown shows trajectory: - Are we speeding up or slowing down? - Will we finish on time at current pace?
3. Early Warning Day 3: Chart shows falling behind.
Day 3: Still time to adjust. Day 9: Counting tickets reveals problem.
Day 9: Too late to fix. 4.
Objective Truth 'How's the sprint going?' 'Let me show you the burndown.' No spin. No optimism.
Just data. GitScrum Burndown Features 1.
Real-Time Updates As tasks complete: - Chart updates automatically - No manual refresh - Always current 2. Multiple Burndown Types Story Points Burndown: - Best for velocity tracking - Weighted by complexity Task Count Burndown: - Simpler view - All items equal 3.
Ideal Line Calculation GitScrum calculates ideal based on: - Sprint duration - Starting work - Team availability (adjusts for PTO/holidays) 4. Sprint Selector View burndowns for: - Current sprint - Previous sprints (for retrospectives) - Sprint comparisons 5.
Scope Change Indicator When work is added mid-sprint: - Chart shows upward spike - Annotation: '+3 points added (Story X)' - Visual evidence for retro discussion Burndown + Git Integration Traditional burndown problem: - Task marked 'done' but not really done - Code not merged - False completion GitScrum burndown: - Connected to Git - Task 'done' = PR merged - Accurate burn Result: Burndown reflects reality. Using Burndowns in Meetings Daily Standup (2 minutes) PM: shows burndown 'We're slightly behind ideal.
2 points gap. Anyone blocked?' Dev: 'Story X is waiting on API, should be today.' PM: 'Ok, we should catch up tomorrow.
Moving on.' No lengthy progress recitation. Visual does the work.
Mid-Sprint Review PM: shows burndown at day 5 'We're tracking 4 points behind. At current pace, we'll finish 1 point short.' Options: 1.
Address blockers 2. Reduce scope by 2 points 3.
Accept partial delivery Objective discussion based on data. Sprint Retrospective Sprint 14 Burndown Analysis: 40 ┤● 35 ┤ ●───● Flat days 2-3 30 ┤ ●──● Flat days 4-5 25 ┤ ● 20 ┤ ●●● Fast finish 15 ┤ ● 10 ┤ ● 5 ┤ ● 0 ┤ ● Discussion: 'Why flat on days 2-5?' 'Deployment issues blocked everyone.' 'Action item: Fix deployment pipeline.' Burndown reveals patterns.
Burndown vs Burnup Burndown: Shows remaining work going down Burnup: Shows completed work going up Burndown: 40 ┤● ┤ ● ┤ ● 0 ┤ ●───→ 0 Burnup: 0 ┤ ┤ ● ┤ ● 40 ┤ ●───→ Total Burndown advantage: - Easier to see 'distance to zero' - Traditional agile metric Burnup advantage: - Shows scope changes better - Total line can move up GitScrum: Both available. Common Burndown Patterns 1.
Hockey Stick 40 ┤●───────────● ┤ ● ┤ ● 0 ┤ ● All work done at end. Cause: Items too big, late testing.
Fix: Smaller stories, continuous QA. 2.
Step Pattern 40 ┤● 30 ┤├──● 20 ┤ ├──● 10 ┤ ├──● 0 ┤ ├──● Work completes in batches. Cause: Dependencies between stories.
Fix: Break dependencies, parallel work. 3.
Mountain 50 ┤ ● 40 ┤● ● ● 30 ┤ ● ● 20 ┤ ● 10 ┤ ● 0 ┤ ● Work added then removed. Cause: Scope creep then cutting.
Fix: Lock sprint scope. 4.
Ideal Burn 40 ┤● 35 ┤ ● 30 ┤ ● 25 ┤ ● 20 ┤ ● 15 ┤ ● 10 ┤ ● 5 ┤ ● 0 ┤ ● Smooth diagonal. Healthy sprint.
Sign of mature team. Vs Jira Burndown Jira: ✓ Has burndown charts ✓ Customizable ✗ Complex configuration ✗ Can be confusing ✗ Git integration = plugins GitScrum: ✓ Built-in burndown ✓ Simple and clear ✓ Git-connected accuracy ✓ $8.90/user Vs Manual Tracking Spreadsheet/Whiteboard: ✓ Free ✓ Custom ✗ Manual updates ✗ Often out of date ✗ Time-consuming GitScrum: ✓ Automatic updates ✓ Always current ✓ Zero maintenance ✓ $8.90/user (2 free) Pricing 2 users: $0/month (free forever) 5 users: $26.70/month 10 users: $71.20/month 25 users: $178/month Includes: - Burndown charts - Burnup charts - Sprint analytics - Historical comparisons - Git integration - All PM features No extra charge for analytics.
Burndowns included for all teams. Getting Started 1.
Sign up (30 seconds) 2. Create a sprint with tasks 3.
Assign story points (or use task count) 4. Watch the burndown update as work completes 5.
Use chart in standups and reviews 6. Make data-driven decisions $8.90/user/month.
2 users free forever. See sprint health at a glance.
The GitScrum Advantage
One unified platform to eliminate context switching and recover productive hours.
