What is one method to establish a team's velocity?

A team's velocity is a measure of the amount of work it can complete in an Iteration, expressed in Story Points. To establish a reliable and predictable velocity for future planning, a team calculates the average number of Story Points from Stories that were accepted (met their Definition of Done) in the most recent Iterations. This historical average provides a fact-based measure of the team's capacity, helping them to realistically forecast how much work they can pull into the next Iteration. A single Iteration's result is not as reliable as an average over several.

A. This calculation measures a team's predictability or reliability (e.g., a say-do ratio), not its velocity, which is a measure of throughput.

B. Agile teams complete Stories within an Iteration. Features are larger constructs that typically span multiple Iterations and are completed by the Agile Release Train (ART), not a single team in one Iteration.

D. This represents the team's plan or commitment at the start of an Iteration. Velocity is calculated based on the work that is actually completed and accepted by the end of the Iteration.

1. Scaled Agile, Inc. (2023). Metrics. Scaled Agile Framework. Retrieved from https://www.scaledagileframework.com/metrics/

Reference Point: In the "Velocity and Load" section, the official documentation states, "Velocity is the number of story points completed in an iteration... For predictability, teams should use their average velocity for the most recent iterations."

2. Scaled Agile, Inc. (2023). Iteration Planning. Scaled Agile Framework. Retrieved from https://www.scaledagileframework.com/iteration-planning/

Reference Point: Under the "Establishing Capacity" section, it is noted that, "The team’s velocity from the previous Iterations is the primary input for this process." This confirms that historical, completed work is the basis for establishing velocity.