Rally Software

 View Only

Planned Velocity

By kalina.kieterling posted May 08, 2018 11:28 AM

  

Velocity plays a key role in Agile Central and has been used as a key metric for Scrum teams. So, what is velocity? In simple terms, velocity calculates the total number of Points (Plan Est) at the end of the Iteration or Release. By planning and measuring your velocity, your team is able to plan more effectively and efficiently. Your velocity may differ from Iteration to Iteration, however, over time, a well-functioning Scrum Team's velocity should steadily trend upwards and stabilize. It is a great metric to forecast how many work items a Team can do in a given Iteration or Release and is a basis for improving the accuracy and reliability for planning your agile projects. It is a continuous process!

 

Luckily for us - Agile Central offers great velocity tools to measure the pace at which teams get their work done. What can YOU do to start tracking velocity? -> Prior to a Release or Iteration, point estimates can be entered into the Planned Velocity field so the team then can commit to the completion of a set of highest ranked product backlog items. The team first commits and then the Scrum Master or a team Administrator enters the number value in the Planned Velocity field. 

 

Where is the Planned Velocity field?

Timeboxes (Plan-> Timeboxes), allows you to manage Planned Velocity for your Iterations AND Releases. Use the drop down field on the top of the page to choose Releases or Iterations. Once the list populates, you can simply use the inline edit and enter the Planned Velocity number next to the Release/Iteration you need or you can click on the gear settings icon and select Edit.

 

On the Iterations view, you can also access a Chart view in the toggle on the right side of the page, to view an iteration velocity chart averages over last 10 iterations. The chart will show you the number of accepted points per iteration. This chart can also be accessed in the Reports page -> Velocity Chart.

 

 

Another great tool in Agile Central that shows you Planned Velocity is located on the Iteration Planning Board (Track -> Iteration Planning Board). This is a great App that provides you with a view of your current scheduled work items and helps you carry out Iteration Planning. You will notice a "Velocity Meter"at the top of the column, which updates automatically as you assign or update story points to your work item. The meter will turn colors based on your Planned Velocity points and your scheduled Plan Estimate points. If you click on the Velocity Meter, you are also able to easily enter in a PLANNED VELOCITY here (remember my note from above: typically it is the Scrum Master or the team Administrator who enters this!) This field will automatically change the total on the meter AS WELL as the Planned Velocity in Timeboxes.

Tip: Feel free to add this app to your dashboard or custom page!

 

Note: There is also a Release Planning Board, same concept, but PI based. (Portfolio -> Release Planning)

 

Color code is based on the percentage of available Planned Velocity:

 

Blue: 0-80%

Green: 80%-100%

Red: 100%+

 

And...Wait.. There's more ways to track (this is why we LOVE Agile Central)!

 

Team Planning (Plan -> Team Planning). In this view, you are able to see the Features scheduled into a Release and a summary of its Iterations. You can click on any work item line to expand and view more details.

The Iterations view provides an overview of your Planned Velocity points and its curr#ent percentage. If you have reached a number higher than your planned velocity, you will see an "issue" alert, and your iteration will be highlighted in red. You can click on the issue alert to view a message and also expand a view of current User Stories included, the Plan Est points, scheduled stated, tasks, and dependencies. By clicking on the gear box, you are able to remove a User Story from Plan, move to a different iteration, or edit. 

0 comments
6 views