We actually work in a software industry. What we manufacture in this industry is deltas to software products. Clients often want a reasonable idea of how long

We actually work in a software industry. What we manufacture in this industry is deltas to software products. Clients often want a reasonable idea of how long it will take for a piece of work in the production line to make it to the factory door. Velocity works well in that environment. It asks "how long will it take this piece to reach the door?", not "if I want a pile of deltas this high outside the factory door, how long will that take?" The former can be derived from actual fresh data. The latter is an estimate built from adding up other estimates and is harder to rely on.