What is the difference between a burndown and a burnup chart?

A burndown chart shows remaining work decreasing over time. A burnup chart shows completed work increasing over time, with a separate line showing total scope. Burnup charts are better at showing scope changes because you can see both the work completed and any scope increases. Many teams prefer burnup charts for this reason.

Should burndown charts use story points or hours?

For sprint burndowns, either can work. Story points are better for release-level burndowns. Hours can provide more granular daily visibility but require time tracking. Story points are more commonly used in Scrum teams. The important thing is to be consistent within the team and use the chart for self-management rather than surveillance.

What does it mean when the burndown goes up?

An upward movement indicates that scope has been added - new work was added to the sprint or existing work was re-estimated upward. This is a sign of scope creep or incomplete understanding of the work at sprint planning. Occasional small increases are normal; frequent or large increases indicate a process issue that should be addressed.

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Burndown Chart

Also known as:sprint burndowniteration burndownprogress chart

A graphical representation of work remaining versus time in a sprint or project, showing actual progress against the ideal completion rate.

In-Depth Explanation

A burndown chart is a visual tool that tracks the amount of remaining work over time, helping teams monitor progress and predict whether they will complete all planned work by the deadline.

Types of burndown charts:

Sprint burndown: Tracks remaining work within a single sprint (daily updates)
Release burndown: Tracks remaining work across multiple sprints toward a release
Product burndown: Tracks overall remaining work for the entire product backlog

How to read a burndown chart:

X-axis: Time (days in a sprint, sprints in a release)
Y-axis: Remaining work (story points, hours, or tasks)
Ideal line: Straight line from total planned work to zero at the deadline
Actual line: The team's actual progress, updated daily

Burndown chart patterns and what they mean:

Tracking the ideal: Team is on pace (healthy)
Above the ideal: Behind schedule (may not complete all work)
Below the ideal: Ahead of schedule (may have capacity for more work)
Flat line: No progress being made (blocked or working on untracked items)
Upward spikes: Scope was added mid-sprint (scope creep)
Staircase pattern: Work completed in large batches rather than continuously

Related charts:

Burnup chart: Shows completed work over time (cumulative), which better handles scope changes
Cumulative flow diagram: Shows work in each status over time (useful for Kanban)
Velocity chart: Shows story points completed per sprint over time

Best practices:

Update the chart daily during standups
Use consistent units (story points or hours, not both)
Track scope changes separately
Use the chart for team self-management, not management pressure
Review patterns in retrospectives

Business Context

Burndown charts provide at-a-glance visibility of project progress, enabling early identification of schedule risks and informed conversations about scope and timeline.

How Clever Ops Uses This

Clever Ops uses burndown charts to provide Australian clients with clear visibility of project progress. We implement automated charts that update in real time, enabling transparent conversations about pace, scope, and delivery timelines.

Example Use Case

"Mid-sprint, the burndown chart shows the actual line well above the ideal line, prompting the team to discuss in their daily standup which items are blocked and whether scope needs to be reduced."