I often get asked how an existing team would go about determining their Velocity (the average amount of work a team can complete in a set period of time), so I thought I’d write a post about how we’ve done it in the past.

1. Agree a sprint duration – let’s say 2 weeks
2. Pull together a list of what you achieved in the previous 2 weeks
3. Estimate this list in story points (using Fibonacci) to establish a velocity value i.e. the sum of the points
4. Plan to deliver this number of points in your first sprint
5. Add more points or remove points in sprint two and three based on whether you achieve your goals or not

Most teams find their velocity within three sprints or so.

Remember, in order for this measure to work, you need…:

• 1 team (1 or more people – ideally no more than 7 or 8 ) that remains the same over time
• 1 set sprint duration (whatever works best for you e.g. 1wk/2wks/1month etc…)
• Enough work to keep you busy for the duration of the sprint (!)

Have a go, see what happens.

Related articles:

• Estimating in Agile Software Development (agile-software-development.com)
• Planning Poker – Agile Estimating (agile-software-development.com)