What this screen is for
A burndown tracks one sprint. It plots the work still outstanding on each day between the sprint's start and end dates, so a line falling steadily towards zero means the sprint is on course and a flat line means nothing is being closed. Choose a project and then a sprint to draw it; the heading repeats the sprint name, its dates and how many items it holds.
A sprint without both a start and an end date cannot be charted, and the page says so. A sprint with no work items in it is reported as empty rather than drawn as a flat line along the axis, with a link through to the work-items grid so items can be assigned to it.
When to use it
Use it mid-sprint, when the question is whether the remaining work will fit in the days left.
What you see on this screen
- The horizontal axis is Date, one point for every calendar day between the sprint's start and end.
- The vertical axis is Items Remaining — a count of work items, not story points.
- Actual Remaining is the solid blue line: how many of the sprint's items were still unfinished at the end of each day. It should fall towards zero; a flat stretch means nothing was closed on those days.
- Ideal Burndown is the grey dashed line: a straight run from the sprint's full item count on day one down to zero on the last day. It is not a target anyone set, just the even pace that would finish the work exactly on time. Read the gap between the two lines: actual above ideal means the sprint is behind, below means ahead.
The panel heading repeats the sprint name, its project, the dates, how many days it runs and how many items it holds.
Filters and actions
Pick a project, then a sprint; the sprint list is ordered with the most recent first and names the project alongside each one. Changing the project clears the sprint.
A sprint missing either date cannot be charted and the page says which is needed. A sprint with no items in it says so too, and links straight to the work-items grid so you can assign some. There is no export or print.
Related
- Sprint Report — what the sprint delivered once it closed
- Velocity — how this sprint compares with earlier ones