Track Release Progress
Who tracks release progress: Product owners monitor release burndown and scope changes. Scrum masters track team velocity and remaining work. Portfolio managers review multiple releases across teams.
Use the metrics and charts available on My Dashboard to monitor release progress, analyze trends, and ensure your team is on track to complete all work by the release deadline.
Track Release Progress
To track release progress using My Dashboard:
- Click the hamburger menu
> Rooms > My Room > My Dashboard - In the My Projects section, select the release you want to track
- Add charts and configure metrics to visualize progress:
- Click Add Chart to add burndown or velocity charts
- Click the wrench icon in the Project Grid to adjust displayed columns
Key Metrics for Release Tracking
Project Grid Metrics
The My Project Summary grid shows:
- Progress Bars — Visual representation of completed vs. remaining work (hover to see estimates)
- End Date vs. Projected End Date — Compare planned vs. projected completion
- Open Stories/Backlog Items — Track remaining work items
- Open Defect Count — Monitor unresolved defects
- Open Issue Count — Track blocking issues
Burndown Charts
Project Burndown and Release Burndown charts show the trend of completed and remaining functionality as your team progresses through the release.
The graph represents the entire time scheduled within the release. For the team to complete all work, the slope of the "Remaining" line should move from the upper-left to the lower-right, trending toward zero by the end of the graph.
Reading Burndown Charts:
- Ideal line — Shows the expected rate of completion
- Remaining line — Shows actual remaining work
- Scope change — Vertical jumps indicate added or removed work
- Hover over points — View specific numeric values for any data point
If the Remaining line is above the Ideal line, the team may be behind schedule. If it's below, the team is ahead of pace.
Additional Charts
Add these charts for deeper insights:
- Total Velocity — Track team velocity across sprints to predict future capacity
- Estimate Trend — Monitor how estimates change over time
- Defect Count by Priority — Analyze defect distribution and prioritize fixes
- Test Trends — Ensure testing keeps pace with development
Analyze Trends
Review multiple charts together to understand the full picture:
- Compare velocity across sprints to identify patterns
- Monitor defect trends to catch quality issues early
- Track test execution to avoid last-minute testing crunches
Click View on any chart to see the full graph with filters and detailed legends.
Troubleshooting
Burndown chart isn't displaying
Ensure the release has a defined start and end date. Burndown charts require scheduled time within the release to calculate the ideal line. If the release is missing dates, add them in the Project Navigator.
Progress bars show zero completed work
Verify that work items have estimates entered and their status is set to "Done" or "Closed." Progress is calculated based on completed estimates vs. total estimates. If items lack estimates, progress won't display accurately.
Projected End Date shows as blank
The Projected End Date is calculated based on current velocity and remaining work. If your team hasn't completed any sprints yet, or if velocity data is insufficient, this field may be empty. Complete at least one sprint with estimated and completed work to generate projections.
Charts show outdated data
Click the refresh button on the chart or reload the My Dashboard page. Most charts update automatically, but some may require manual refresh. If data remains stale, verify that team members are updating work item statuses and estimates.