Elixion

Charts & Metrics

Understand and use charts and metrics to track progress

Charts & Metrics

Charts and metrics help visualize project progress, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. This guide covers all available charts and how to interpret them.

Sprint Charts

Burndown Chart

Shows remaining work over time:

Story Points
     35 ┤●
        │ ╲                    Ideal
     25 ┤  ╲●                  ─────
        │    ╲  ●              Actual
     15 ┤      ╲  ●────●       ─────
        │        ╲      ╲
      5 ┤          ╲      ●─●
        │            ╲        ╲
      0 ┼──────────────────────●──
        Day 1   3   5   7   9   10

Interpretation:

  • Above ideal line: Behind schedule
  • Below ideal line: Ahead of schedule
  • Flat sections: No progress (blocked?)
  • Sharp drops: Large items completed

Burnup Chart

Shows completed work accumulation:

Story Points
     35 ┤                    ●───● Scope
        │               ●────●
     25 ┤          ●────●
        │     ●────●           ●───● Done
     15 ┤●────●           ●────●
        │            ●────●
      5 ┤       ●────●
        │  ●────●
      0 ┼────────────────────────────
        Day 1   3   5   7   9   10

Interpretation:

  • Gap between lines: Remaining work
  • Scope line rising: Scope creep
  • Done line flattening: Progress slowing

Sprint Velocity

Track velocity across sprints:

Points
     40 ┤              ●────●
        │        ●────●
     30 ┤  ●────●
        │        ●
     20 ┤  ●
        │
     10 ┤
      0 ┼────────────────────────────
        S10  S11  S12  S13  S14  S15

Key Metrics:

  • Average velocity: 31 points
  • Trend: +8% over 6 sprints
  • Variability: Low (stable team)

Project Charts

Cumulative Flow Diagram

Shows issue distribution over time:

Issues
    50 ┤████████████████████████████ Done
       │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░████████████
    40 ┤░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
       │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ In Progress
    30 ┤▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
       │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░
    20 ┤                           To Do
       │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░
    10 ┤▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
       │
     0 ┼────────────────────────────
       Week 1   2    3    4    5

Interpretation:

  • Band widths: Work in each status
  • Narrowing bands: Flow improving
  • Widening bands: Bottleneck forming
  • Flat areas: No movement

Issue Distribution

Pie chart showing issue breakdown:

Issue Types                 Priority
    ┌─────────┐                ┌─────────┐
   ╱ Story    ╲               ╱Critical  ╲
  │  55%       │             │  10%       │
  │            │             │    High    │
   ╲ Bug  Task╱               ╲  25%  Med╱
    │20%  25%│                 │     40% │
    └─────────┘                └──Low 25%┘

Progress Over Time

Track completion trends:

Completion %
    100 ┤                         Target
        │                    ●────
     75 ┤              ●────●
        │        ●────●
     50 ┤  ●────●
        │●────●
     25 ┤
        │
      0 ┼────────────────────────────
        Week 1   2    3    4    5

Team Charts

Workload Distribution

Team Member    Assigned Points
─────────────────────────────────
Alice          ████████████████ 16
Bob            ██████████████ 14
Carol          ████████████ 12
Dave           ████████ 8
Unassigned     ██████ 5

Cycle Time Distribution

Issues
     15 ┤     ●
        │    ╱ ╲
     10 ┤   ╱   ╲
        │  ╱     ╲
      5 ┤ ╱       ╲
        │╱         ╲───
      0 ┼────────────────────
        1   2   3   4   5   6+ days

Metrics:

  • Median: 2.3 days
  • Average: 2.8 days
  • 90th percentile: 4.5 days

Review Time

PR Review Time (hours)
     8 ┤  ●
       │ ╱ ╲
     6 ┤╱   ╲
       │     ╲
     4 ┤      ●───●
       │           ╲
     2 ┤            ●
     0 ┼────────────────────
       Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Key Metrics

Velocity Metrics

| Metric | Description | Target | |--------|-------------|--------| | Velocity | Points per sprint | Consistent | | Commitment Accuracy | Planned vs. done | > 85% | | Carry-over Rate | Incomplete items | < 15% |

Flow Metrics

| Metric | Description | Target | |--------|-------------|--------| | Cycle Time | Start to done | Decreasing | | Lead Time | Created to done | Decreasing | | Throughput | Issues per week | Increasing | | WIP | Work in progress | < Team size |

Quality Metrics

| Metric | Description | Target | |--------|-------------|--------| | Bug Escape Rate | Bugs found post-release | Decreasing | | Bug Fix Time | Time to resolve bugs | < 2 days | | Code Coverage | Test coverage % | > 80% | | Review Coverage | PRs reviewed | 100% |

Using Charts Effectively

Dashboard Configuration

Add charts to dashboards:

Add Chart Widget
────────────────

Chart Type: Burndown
Data: Current Sprint
Options:
  ☑ Show ideal line
  ☑ Show trend
  ☐ Show forecast

Size: Large (3x2)

[Add to Dashboard]

Filtering

Apply filters to charts:

Chart Filters
─────────────
Project: Auth Service
Sprint: Sprint 15
Date Range: Last 30 days
Issue Types: Story, Bug

Comparisons

Compare periods:

Compare: Sprint 14 vs Sprint 15
──────────────────────────────

Metric          Sprint 14  Sprint 15  Change
Velocity        28 pts     32 pts     +14%
Cycle Time      3.1 days   2.4 days   -23%
Bug Rate        15%        10%        -33%

Interpreting Data

Common Patterns

Healthy Sprint:

  • Burndown follows ideal line
  • Consistent daily progress
  • Few blocked items

Warning Signs:

  • Flat burndown sections
  • Late sprint spikes
  • Increasing WIP

Improvement Indicators:

  • Decreasing cycle time
  • Stable velocity
  • Fewer carry-overs

Taking Action

Based on metrics:

| Pattern | Possible Cause | Action | |---------|----------------|--------| | Flat burndown | Blocked work | Resolve blockers | | Velocity drop | Team changes | Adjust planning | | High WIP | Poor focus | Enforce WIP limits | | Long cycle time | Review delays | Improve review process |

Best Practices

Chart Selection

| Question | Best Chart | |----------|------------| | "Are we on track?" | Burndown | | "How much is done?" | Burnup | | "Where are bottlenecks?" | Cumulative Flow | | "How fast are we?" | Velocity | | "How predictable?" | Cycle Time Distribution |

Presentation

✓ Do:

  • Choose appropriate charts
  • Provide context
  • Highlight trends
  • Explain anomalies

✗ Don't:

  • Use too many charts
  • Show without analysis
  • Ignore outliers
  • Compare incomparable

Next: Team Management - Manage team members