Teams & projects
Sprint velocity calculator
Enter the points completed in your last three sprints and the points still in the backlog to see your average velocity and a best-to-worst-case forecast.
Use completed points only (items that met the definition of done), not points that were started.
How velocity and the forecast are calculated
Velocity is the number of story points a team completes in one sprint. Because a single sprint can be distorted by holidays, outages or one large item, the calculator averages the last three: (sprint 1 + sprint 2 + sprint 3) ÷ 3. Remaining backlog ÷ average velocity, rounded up, gives the sprints still needed. Repeating the division with the slowest and the fastest of the three sprints turns that single number into a range, which is a more honest way to answer "when will it be done?"
Example: sprints of 34, 28 and 31 points average 31 points. A backlog of 240 points needs 240 ÷ 31 = 7.7, so 8 sprints, or 16 weeks with two-week sprints. At the slowest pace (28) it takes 9 sprints; at the fastest (34) it still takes 8, because 7.06 rounds up. The spread between slowest and fastest is 6 points, 19% of the average.
| Average velocity | Sprints for 240 points | Weeks (2-week sprints) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 12 | 24 |
| 25 | 10 | 20 |
| 30 | 8 | 16 |
| 35 | 7 | 14 |
| 40 | 6 | 12 |
| 50 | 5 | 10 |
Using velocity well
Velocity is a planning tool for one team, not a performance score. Points are relative to the team that estimated them, so comparing velocity between teams, or pushing a team to raise it, mostly produces inflated estimates. A stable velocity is worth more than a high one: if the variation is under about 20–30%, a forecast a few sprints out is usually reasonable; above that, look for the cause (unplanned work, carry-over, changing team members) before promising dates.
Two adjustments make the forecast more realistic. First, backlogs grow: new stories, bugs and discovered work are added during the project, so check how many points were added per sprint and subtract that from velocity. Second, adjust for known capacity changes; a sprint with a third of the team on leave will not deliver an average sprint's points. Count only work that met the definition of done, and never count partially finished items, or velocity will swing from sprint to sprint.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate sprint velocity?
Add up the story points of all items finished in the sprint (done by your definition of done). For planning, average the last three to five sprints rather than relying on one.
How many sprints should I average?
Three is the usual minimum and is what this calculator uses. If your team is stable, averaging five or six sprints smooths out holidays and one-off events further.
What if the backlog keeps growing?
Measure how many points are added per sprint and subtract that from velocity. If 31 points are done and 6 are added each sprint, the backlog only shrinks by 25 points per sprint.