Burndown Chart for Active Sprint
A burndown chart is a simple way to see whether your sprint is on track.
It answers questions like:
Are we finishing work fast enough to meet the sprint goal?
Did we add more work during the sprint?
Why does “work remaining” suddenly go up or down?
The main idea
At the start of the sprint, the team has a certain amount of work planned (your commitment).mAs the sprint goes on, that amount should go down as issues get completed.
If the line is going down steadily, you’re likely on track.
If it stays flat for too long, the team may not be finishing work yet.
If it goes up, it usually means new work was added.
How to read the chart
X-axis (time)
Shows the sprint timeline:
usually days
if the sprint is very short, it switches to hours
if it’s extremely short, it switches to minutes
So the chart always matches the real sprint duration.
Y-axis (work remaining)
Shows “how much work is still left”, based on the method you choose:
Story Points
Original Time
Work Item Count
Example:
If you choose Story Points, the chart shows how many story points are still not done.
If you choose Work Item Count, it shows how many issues are still not done.
What makes the line move
The burndown changes when something in the sprint changes:
✅ Issue added to the sprint → line goes up
More work was added, so the remaining work increases.
✅ Issue removed from the sprint → line goes down
Work was taken out of scope, so the remaining work decreases.
✅ Issue completed → line goes down
Work got finished, so the remaining work decreases.
If none of these things happen for a while, the line stays flat.
Actual vs Forecast lines
Actual line
Shows what really happened so far:
starts at the sprint’s initial commitment
updates up to today / current time
moves up/down when scope changes or issues are completed
Forecast line
Shows the “ideal path” to finish on time:
a straight line from the initial commitment
to the planned end of the sprint
Think of it as a simple target to compare against.
What “good” and “risky” patterns look like
Actual line is close to the forecast line: sprint is generally on track
Actual line is above the forecast line: you may be behind (too much work remaining)
Actual line goes up often: scope is changing a lot (new work added mid-sprint)
Actual line stays flat for long periods: work may be in progress but not reaching “Done”
If you need help or want to ask questions, please contact SaaSJet Support or email us at support@saasjet.atlassian.net
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