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Velocity Reports

Velocity reports show the amount of work completed during sprints or iterations, broken down by different dimensions. Use these reports to plan future sprints, forecast effort, and track past performance.

Understanding Velocity​

Velocity measures the amount of work a team completes in a sprint or iteration, typically measured in story points or hours. Velocity is often used to make business decisions, so it's important to understand exactly what it indicates.

To learn more about this key agile concept, explore these resources:

Velocity Report Types​

Digital.ai Agility provides six velocity report views, each breaking down completed work by a different dimension:

Velocity by Risk​

Shows estimate completed during sprints broken down by risk level. This helps identify if teams are completing primarily low-risk or high-risk work.

Best for: Risk management, understanding team capacity for uncertain work

Velocity by Risk or Complexity​

Bar chart showing total estimate broken out by risk delivered over a specified date range (days, weeks, or months). This report rolls up velocity across different sprint schedules.

Best for: Long-term trend analysis, comparing risk patterns across time periods

Velocity by Type​

Shows total estimate broken down by work item type (story, defect, technical debt, etc.) delivered over a specified date range. Rolls up velocity across different sprint schedules.

Best for: Understanding work distribution, identifying defect trends, balancing feature work versus technical debt

Velocity by Priority​

Breaks completed effort into different priority levels based on the priority of closed work items. Measured in points or hours.

Best for: Tracking high-priority work completion, validating prioritization decisions

Velocity by Project​

Breaks down completed effort and allocates it to the appropriate child project. Measured in points or hours.

Best for: Multi-project programs, understanding effort distribution across projects, resource allocation

Velocity by Status​

Breaks completed effort into different status types. Measured in points or hours.

Best for: Understanding team workflow, identifying process bottlenecks, analyzing work in progress

Accessing Velocity Reports​

  1. Click the hamburger menu Hamburger icon > Reports > All Reports.
  2. Scroll to the Planning Reports section.
  3. Select the specific velocity report you want to view:
    • Story or Backlog Item Velocity by Risk
    • Backlog Item Velocity by Risk or Complexity
    • Story Velocity by Type
    • Velocity by Priority
    • Velocity by Project
    • Velocity by Status
  4. Select from the available filters and click Go.

Common Report Filters​

All velocity reports share these common filters:

Team

  • Shows team-specific data for the project or program
  • Default value: "All" or "Blank"

Backlog Group

  • Shows data assigned to the selected backlog group
  • Filters velocity to specific product areas or themes

Start Sprint or Iteration

  • The first sprint or iteration to include in the report
  • Defines the beginning of your data range

End Sprint or Iteration

  • The last sprint or iteration to include in the report
  • Defines the end of your data range

Aggregation Type

  • Determines how data is aggregated
  • Options:
    • Sum of Estimate or Total Estimate: Sum of the estimate values
    • Workitem Count: Count of work items regardless of estimate value

Workitem (Priority, Project, and Status reports only)

  • Shows data for specific work item type
  • Options: All (all work items), Stories/Backlog Items, Defects, or Test Sets
  • Default: "All"

Show Active

  • Show active items on the report
  • Filters out archived or deleted items

Technical Details​

Date Range Defaults

  • By default, the date range is set to the beginning and ending dates of the project
  • Duration is set to measure by weeks
  • If the project has no end date, the end date defaults to the current date

Sprint Boundaries

  • Velocity reports are not automatically bound by any one sprint
  • The duration sets both the duration of the report and the frequency of data points
  • To show daily data points of velocity, set the start date to 30 days ago and set the interval to 1 day

Measurement Units

  • Velocity can be measured in story points or hours
  • The measurement unit is determined by your team's estimation practice
  • Ensure consistency within your team for accurate tracking

Using Velocity Reports Effectively​

Planning Future Sprints​

  1. Review historical velocity across 3-5 sprints to establish a baseline
  2. Use the average velocity to forecast capacity for upcoming sprints
  3. Compare velocity by risk or type to understand team capability patterns
  4. Adjust sprint commitments based on velocity trends

Forecasting Effort​

  1. Calculate average velocity from past sprints
  2. Divide remaining backlog estimate by average velocity to forecast number of sprints needed
  3. Use velocity by priority to forecast when high-priority items will complete
  4. Factor in known risks or changes when making forecasts

Tracking Past Performance​

  1. Monitor velocity trends over time to identify improvements or declines
  2. Use velocity by type to track defect resolution rates
  3. Compare velocity across teams or projects to identify best practices
  4. Correlate velocity changes with process improvements or challenges

Analyzing Work Distribution​

  1. Use velocity by type to ensure balanced work distribution
  2. Review velocity by priority to confirm high-priority work gets attention
  3. Check velocity by project in multi-project environments
  4. Use velocity by risk to understand team capacity for uncertain work

Common Patterns and Insights​

Increasing Velocity

  • Team is improving efficiency
  • Better estimation accuracy
  • Reduced impediments
  • Effective practices adoption

Decreasing Velocity

  • New team members ramping up
  • Increased technical debt
  • External dependencies causing delays
  • Process changes or organizational shifts

Inconsistent Velocity

  • Estimation accuracy issues
  • Variable sprint scope
  • External interruptions
  • Team composition changes

High-Risk Work Concentration

  • Team may need support or training
  • Consider breaking down risky items
  • Evaluate if risk assessment is accurate

Low-Priority Work Completion

  • Review prioritization process
  • Check if urgent issues are distracting team
  • Ensure product owner engagement

Best Practices​

  1. Track consistently: Use the same measurement unit (points or hours) across sprints
  2. Review regularly: Examine velocity trends during retrospectives
  3. Consider context: Understand factors affecting velocity before making decisions
  4. Avoid pressure: Don't use velocity as a performance metric for individuals
  5. Compare wisely: Only compare velocity within the same team over time
  6. Focus on trends: Look for patterns over 3-5 sprints rather than single sprint variations
  7. Combine views: Use multiple velocity breakdowns for comprehensive analysis