4.6 Measurement

“You can't control what you can't measure

• Tom DeMarco - in Controlling Software Projects, Management Measurement & Estimation, Page 3

=> (Agile) Projects must be measured

Agile measurement techniques:

• Velocity, indicating team performance

  • Sums the delivered stories for each iteration.

  • Measurement units: complexity points (estimated by the team members) or hours spent for development (and testing, BA activity, communication, etc.).

  • Velocity stabilizes after 3-6 sprints.

• On a Sprint or Project basis, burn-down chart is used

  • It shows the remaining work effort (number of stories, hours/complexity points estimated from stories)

  • A degree of 45' shows normal progress

  • Updated daily / on a per Sprint basis

  • Publicly available for all team members

Figure 4.6: Burn-down chart showing the planned and actual progress of a Sprint; Sprint is behind schedule