Dev Team burning down Decade Software in June

In Scrum, we use the Sprint Burn-down Chart to provide the team with a daily indication of their velocity and progress against the work they have committed to delivering. Even early in a sprint—30 days of work—the burn-down chart can give the team a good idea of how they're progressing against their scheduled tasks and whether they will complete them by the end of the sprint. This drives the motivation to deliver on commitments to the team and provides a planning tool for team leads.

To share some positive effects I have observed since switching from typical Microsoft Project style metrics, using Project's effort variance and schedule variance metrics, developers were reluctant to open up regarding status details. We were always finding excuses to explain why original estimates were not met. As such, collected metrics never provided a clear picture of where we stood—and whether we would meet our goals or not.

With burn-down charts—like the current chart pictured here—we get a very clear view of where the overall development stands at all times—and it is updated in real-time. In our daily stand-up meetings, team members openly discuss status and what can be done to stay on task. For us, the difference has been black and white and one of the biggest benefits of adopting Scrum at Decade.