How is the "Planned Velocity" in the new "Iteration Tracking" calculated?

[Anon Anon]

Can someone explain exactly how the percentage in the "Planned Velocity" is calculated?    The official definition is this:

"Total number of story points (or other unit type) the team estimates they can complete within the iteration."  However even when estimating story points I see the percentage as "0%".   I will add that the project I'm looking at only has US and not Tasks estimated.  But I have looked at several other projects and I can't find any where the numbers seem to add up to what is planned.   Any clarity you can provide would be great.

[Legacy User]

Hi Betsy!  I just found this out myself!

You're right -- the Planned Velocity app calculates the "Total number of story points (or other unit type) the team estimates they can complete within the iteration."

So -- does it say something like "23 of 0 points" with that big 0% on it, for instance:


To break it down: 

1st value: populated by the Plan Estimate for each user story on the iteration
2nd value (the 0 above): populated by the Planned Velocity field on the Iteration itself 

These values will calculate the total of the iteration for all projects you're scoped to.  As long as you've estimated your stories AND set the planned velocity value for the iteration (Plan --> Iterations page), you'll see a correct value, like this:

[Anon Anon]

Thanks John. With that explanation, I found the help about it at https://help.rallydev.com/iteration-planning

It says there, in part:

     "Mature teams use past velocity to determine what product backlog items to commit to during the iteration. Velocity is the average number of user story points a team can complete in an iteration ....

     "When creating an iteration in Rally, use the Planned Velocity field to record how many user story points (or other value) the team thinks it can complete. New teams may not know their velocity, or it may not be stable enough to use as a basis for iteration planning. An approach for new teams is to make commitments with a best guess based on past project work."

So such teams (called "new teams" here) are stuck with a Planned Velocity display "N of 0 points"? Or they should "hack" the display by doing the iteration planning meeitng, then copying the Planned Estimate (Rally-calculated) value into the (user-assigned) Planned Velocity field?

[Legacy User]

Hi Tom!  Thanks for your reply!

I think what is intended is that, yes, new teams will enter the planned velocity during the iteration planning meeting.  Once a team gets going and is able to accurately determine their velocity, that value can be used and/or adjusted as needed. 

[Anon Anon]

Thank you John, now that I see it I suppose it should have been obvious ;)

[Legacy User]

Don't feel bad at all, Betsy.  I had no idea where that came from either!

[Anon Anon]

Why is it so difficult to update, add/or change the planned velocity for an iteartion(s)? Every new quarter I see the iterations listed for that quarter with the warning icon next to them.

I then lick on every single menu item in the Plan and Track nav menus trying to figure out where the **** I need to go to change it. I eventually find it, but it's a huge waste of my time (I should create a feakin story for it since it takes me so much time, if I ever figure out my velocity searching for this has already impacted it!!).

I try clicking on the warning icon (that seems like it would make sense don't you think), but it does nothing. Yes, it's true in the past I've been able to figure it out, but as of now I haven't been able to for this quarter so far... and why should I have to waste so much time looking anyway? Short term memory is a *****, it needs to be accounted for on features that are rarely utilized, but do come into play eveyr so often. I should have to relearn how to do it every time it comes up.

A) Please make this easier in the future
B) Where the F do I go to update/change it?!

[Legacy User]

Hi Justin, thanks for the feedback -- we really do appreciate it!  We've actually been working on making this easier, and have recently released the new Timeboxes page.  The Timeboxes page brings together Iterations, Releases, and Milestones under one roof!

The Timeboxes page makes it really easy to update the Planned Velocity for an Iteration.

1.  Go to Plan --> Timeboxes
2.  Make sure Iterations is selected in the dropdown
3.  Click in the Planned Velocity column to edit the value
4.  Enter a value and hit Enter or click away from the column
5.  Done!

Here's me doing it after seeing that error icon in Plan -> Plan: Adding Planned Velocity

[Anon Anon]

Thanks for the reply and it was a nice touch to allow users to update the velocity inline, hit enter and then jump to the next line so if I start from the top of the list I can quickly enter velocities for all of the upcoming iterations so I shouldn't have to worry about this again for a while!

[Legacy User]

Ah!  You caught something I didn't!  That definitely makes sense!