In Scrum, velocity measures the rate at which software development teams deliver business value. Calculating velocity is done by adding up estimates of the user stories, features, backlog items, or requirements delivered in an iteration. It allows teams to predict the amount of scope that can be delivered at a certain date, predict a scope date, as well as understand the limits and define how much scope a team commits for a sprint. You can learn more about scrum velocity when you click here.
For teams, a higher velocity could indicate efficiency and productivity. But it is important to note that a team can’t be compared to others because velocity has a subjective value. Thus, teams need to be compared to itself and the way it performed in previous Sprints. To increase velocity in Agile,
here are tips your team can follow:
Using Metrics Responsible
Each team varies in the way it rates its Story Points and comparing teams with others is an undependable way to compare progress. As teams collect more data, the metrics become more dependable. Teams must always use metrics responsibly, which means encouraging teams instead of putting undue pressure on them. When team members are under too much pressure, they might not be able to achieve their expected production. Also, their morale may also be damaged. In addition, teams need to properly verify and assess the metrics during retrospectives because they use them to calculate further velocities in Scrum.
Improve Quality of Work
Focusing on increasing work quality reduces or eliminates the need to revise a team’s work in later stages. This results in higher productivity and faster work movement. Also, this minimizes the risk of items being returned to the Product Backlog. When teams concentrate on their work quality, they reduce the velocity’s initial inflation. Compromised quality means increased work speed and damaged productivity and ROI.
Determine when Re-testing is Necessary
Tests should not be twice or more unless there is a big reason. For instance, retesting a code is not necessary when it hasn’t changed. But user interface and integration tests must be assessed regularly. While testing required features is necessary, tests for rarely-used features should be limited. This would increase the team’s velocity.
Promote Concentrate and Focus
Before the Sprint starts, task priorities should be decided first. And the team must stick to these priorities throughout the progress of the Sprint. Constantly changing priorities can compromise the team’s productivity. Thus, teams must learn to be consistent and focus on a single task after the other to increase their productivity.
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