3 ms·

I guess I'm unfamiliar with what a velocity chart measures, but more generally speaking velocity cant just keep increasing. I think you should expect it to be r

I guess I'm unfamiliar with what a velocity chart measures, but more generally speaking velocity cant just keep increasing. I think you should expect it to be relatively steady.

7thaccount 3y ago
Agreed. There should be some uptick as a new employee gains experience, but eventually things should more or less level off.
skeeter2020 3y ago
I use velocity to answer a very simple question and believe anything beyond this is wishful thinking. Is the team getting better over time estimating the effort to complete desired work? The author here is charting velocity over time (down to the indivual developer, which is even worse) as some sort of work output proxy measure. This is a really big mistake. The entire premise for estimating stories in the first place is because we agree time is limited, so scope must be the variable. So you estimate stories, then you fit them into a fixed time period, then you execute and review the period. Did you get done what you planned? Probably not, why? I'll bet something turned out to be more work than you originally thought, or maybe you were blocked by someone else, maybe not even in the same team or even department. How did this period compare to previous periods? Is the planned/actual getting better or worse? Why? As a manager I hope for steady velocity; it means the team is getting good at predicting the effort for work, probably understands what they're doing and allows you to make some plans for the future. People don't change the way the author's week-to-week velocity chart does, so all that shows is that they're still shitty at estimating stories. One take-away that should be called out explicitly: velocity is a team-specific metric. Just as you can't divide it onto individuals, you can't compare it across teams either. Whenever you do either of these you're guilty of trying to inappropriately use it as a false proxy for performance. Please don't.
coldcode 3y ago
Velocity is based on calculating exact numbers from wild ass guesses. Estimating story points is not an exact science; implementing things you've never done before adds more variability; pressure to go faster creates mistakes that take time to repair; then add everyone on the team up and call it team velocity. The average of 100 coin flips is likely close to 50% heads, the average time to drive across the country is unlikely to converge on anything useful.
teeray 3y ago
Velocity is a number used in software planning divination. Positive velocity is seen as a beneficial sign, bestowing good fortune on a project. Flat or declining velocity is an ill portent, prophesying schedule delays. The measure is used by management similarly to how craps players plan their bets on the statistics of previous dice rolls.

I guess I'm unfamiliar with what a velocity chart measures, but more generally speaking velocity cant just keep increasing. I think you should expect it to be relatively steady.

7thaccount 3y ago

Agreed. There should be some uptick as a new employee gains experience, but eventually things should more or less level off.

skeeter2020 3y ago

I use velocity to answer a very simple question and believe anything beyond this is wishful thinking. Is the team getting better over time estimating the effort to complete desired work? The author here is charting velocity over time (down to the indivual developer, which is even worse) as some sort of work output proxy measure. This is a really big mistake. The entire premise for estimating stories in the first place is because we agree time is limited, so scope must be the variable. So you estimate stories, then you fit them into a fixed time period, then you execute and review the period. Did you get done what you planned? Probably not, why? I'll bet something turned out to be more work than you originally thought, or maybe you were blocked by someone else, maybe not even in the same team or even department. How did this period compare to previous periods? Is the planned/actual getting better or worse? Why? As a manager I hope for steady velocity; it means the team is getting good at predicting the effort for work, probably understands what they're doing and allows you to make some plans for the future. People don't change the way the author's week-to-week velocity chart does, so all that shows is that they're still shitty at estimating stories. One take-away that should be called out explicitly: velocity is a team-specific metric. Just as you can't divide it onto individuals, you can't compare it across teams either. Whenever you do either of these you're guilty of trying to inappropriately use it as a false proxy for performance. Please don't.

coldcode 3y ago

Velocity is based on calculating exact numbers from wild ass guesses. Estimating story points is not an exact science; implementing things you've never done before adds more variability; pressure to go faster creates mistakes that take time to repair; then add everyone on the team up and call it team velocity. The average of 100 coin flips is likely close to 50% heads, the average time to drive across the country is unlikely to converge on anything useful.

teeray 3y ago

Velocity is a number used in software planning divination. Positive velocity is seen as a beneficial sign, bestowing good fortune on a project. Flat or declining velocity is an ill portent, prophesying schedule delays. The measure is used by management similarly to how craps players plan their bets on the statistics of previous dice rolls.