Burndown chart: What it is and how to use it (with example)

You kick off Monday with a sprint meeting and hear about a development snag that could slow the team down. Most of us have been in a similar time crunch scenario, and squeezing everything into your team’s schedule can be tough. That’s where a burndown chart comes in. 

A burndown chart helps analyze the work you have to do versus the time it takes you to complete it. This can be an excellent tool for visualizing and better managing your team’s workload, so you can prioritize your schedule. Let’s dig into what a burndown chart is and how to create one of your own. 

What is a burndown chart?

A burndown chart shows how much work your team still needs to complete within a specific time frame, usually during a sprint or a project cycle. It tracks remaining tasks or effort against the calendar, so you can see if the team is on track to finish on time. The chart is a visual representation that begins with the full amount of planned work and gradually trends downward toward zero as tasks are completed. Teams use burndown charts to identify risks early, assess whether workloads match capacity, and make quick adjustments if progress slows.

How does a burndown chart work?

A burndown chart shows the total remaining work each day and compares it to an ideal completion line that forecasts the expected rate of progress. As a team finishes tasks, the remaining work line drops, allowing stakeholders to see how quickly work is burning down. If the actual line rises, flattens, or diverges from the ideal line, the burndown chart indicates that blockers, scope changes, or workload issues could be impacting delivery. Checking the chart regularly during the sprint helps Agile teams adapt early, reallocate work, and keep overall progress on track.

What are the four types of burndown charts?

Burndown charts give teams in Agile project management and Scrum a straightforward way to track progress. Different charts highlight different stages of the development cycle, each addressing a particular need.

1. Sprint burndown charts: Use these charts to get a day-to-day view of how a single sprint is progressing. Also called a story point burndown chart, these show whether a team is on pace to meet its sprint goal and help them adjust quickly when work, priorities, or deadlines change.

2. Release burndown charts: Use these charts to track progress across multiple sprints in a release. Software development teams depend on them to monitor user stories and epics over time.

3. Project burndown charts: Use these charts to monitor remaining work across an entire project rather than a sprint or release. Teams use them to monitor high-level progress, identify long-term risks, and align stakeholders on the project’s overall trajectory.

4. Product burndown charts: Also known as epic burndown charts, teams use them to get a long-term perspective on an entire backlog or a large epic. They help teams prioritize tasks and subtasks, optimize workflows, and make better planning decisions.

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What are the key components of a burndown chart?

A burndown chart displays time on the horizontal axis and remaining work items on the vertical axis. The ideal and actual effort lines compare the planned and actual progress, while story points indicate the size of each task. Along with a clearly defined sprint goal, these elements give Agile and Scrum teams a visual project status dashboard to help them keep work on track.

• X-axis (sprints or time): Shows the time remaining to complete any work items. Scrum teams often use the number of sprints, while other teams track the number of days left in a project.

• Y-axis (remaining effort): Displays the effort required to finish work, usually measured in story points that estimate the complexity of user stories or tasks.

• Actual effort line: Tracks the actual remaining work at the end of each sprint or day. This line adjusts due to scope changes, unexpected issues, or estimation gaps.

• Ideal effort line: Shows how the work would progress in an ideal scenario where the team completes tasks consistently. It follows a straight line from the total work to zero and acts as a benchmark.

• Story points: Show the relative effort required to complete user stories, epics, or tasks. Teams plot these points on the Y-axis to visualize the remaining workload.

• Sprint goal: Defines the sprint target outcome. Some burn charts include a line or marker that indicates the level of progress needed to reach a goal.

How to create a burndown chart in 5 easy steps

Now that you know what a burndown chart is, how do you, the project manager, go about creating one? Burndown charts may look simple, but there are a few steps that you’ll need to complete before finalizing your chart. 

Step 1: Estimate the effort required

The first step to create a burndown chart is to estimate the effort needed to complete a given sprint. You can do this by considering your ideal baseline. In other words, the ideal amount of time in a given timeframe.

For example, let’s say your ideal baseline is to complete your sprint in 5 days with 80 hours of work. That equates to 16 hours of work per day. You would then begin your effort trajectory at 80 (representing 80 hours) and track your effort for the remaining days. This would look something like this:

• Day 1: 80 hours of work

• Day 2: 64 hours of work

• Day 3: 48 hours of work

• Day 4: 32 hours of work

• Day 5: 16 hours of work

Once you have your estimated effort, you can begin tracking your daily progress in order to start your burndown line.

Step 2: Track daily progress and remaining work

Once you have your estimates, you can begin tracking your daily progress. This can be done with a simple chart or timeline tool. You’ll want to track how much time it takes to complete each task and how that effort is pacing toward your goal. 

Here is an example of what your daily progress should look like:

By the end of the fifth day, each task should total 80 hours, as estimated in the first step. 

Step 3: Calculate actual effort spent

Once you log your estimates, track the actual effort it takes to complete each task using your burndown chart. The real effort often shifts from the forecast as teams encounter unexpected issues or changes in complexity that influence the project timeline. When you plot this data, the actual effort line will fluctuate rather than follow a straight path, because most projects experience natural variations in pace.

Step 4: Compile the final dataset

After recording your estimates and actual effort, compile the figures into a final dataset to plot on your burndown chart. Compare your estimated effort with the time or points you logged, and save this information in a shared space so the team can review it as the sprint progresses. Once the dataset is ready, add it to your chart to illustrate how work advanced during the sprint, and use a project management tool like Asana to automate updates.

Step 5: Plot the burndown chart

To create your burndown chart, place your estimated effort on the Y-axis and your sprint days on the X-axis. Add your starting point at the top of the chart and work downward as the sprint goes on. After entering your estimates, draw the ideal effort line to show how work would trend during a steady sprint, then add the actual effort line based on your logged work. These lines will almost always differ, because real progress rarely matches the original estimate exactly.

Here is an example of what your burndown chart would look like with this example.

As you can see, the actual work line is slightly different from the ideal. The work effort was higher than anticipated at the start but lower than expected at the end. Therefore, while the path was slightly different, the end result was the same.

How to read a burndown chart

A burndown chart illustrates how a team works through its sprint, but knowing what to look for is key to interpreting it correctly. These steps explain how to read a burndown chart effectively, which is an essential skill for any Scrum master or project manager.

1. Begin with the ideal effort line. The ideal effort line shows how a team progresses through the sprint in a consistent pattern, beginning at the full estimate and decreasing to zero by the final day. It demonstrates how a Scrum project functions and helps you judge whether your planned pace supports sprint goals.

2. Track the actual effort line. The actual effort line shows how much completed work remains at the end of each day or iteration. Compare this line to the ideal trend to determine if progress meets expectations or if the team is losing momentum.

3. Identify deviations and their causes. When the actual line moves above or below the ideal line, identify the cause of the change. Deviations can result from blockers, missing functions, shifting requirements, or dependencies that disrupt the team's workflow.

4. Recognize patterns and trends. Monitor how the actual line moves over time. A flat line can indicate stalled work, while a steep drop may show a surge in productivity or the achievement of a significant milestone in the sprint.

5. Evaluate the projection cone. Some burndown charts, especially release charts, include a projection cone that estimates potential completion dates. Review the cone's width to gauge uncertainty and guide decisions on resources and risk as the project progresses.

How to use a burndown chart in Agile and Scrum

Burndown charts help Agile and Scrum teams manage work, track progress, and coordinate sprint goals. When teams use these charts effectively, they improve productivity, streamline workflows, and deliver work with greater predictability.

1. Monitor progress throughout the sprint. Check how the remaining work line moves each day and compare it to the planned pace.

2. Discuss trends in daily stand-ups. Use the chart to discuss progress, performance metrics, blockers, and any changes to the workload that affect sprint goals.

3. Flag deviations early. When the actual line rises or stalls, identify the cause and update priorities or tasks before delays increase.

4. Coordinate team decisions. Use burndown charts to refine tasks, plan upcoming work, or coordinate handoffs with the Product Owner or Scrum Master.

5. Pair the chart with complementary tools. Use the product backlog and a change control process to track added or removed work so the chart reflects the whole picture.

Pros and cons of using burndown charts

Understanding the pros and cons of burndown charts helps you decide whether they’re right for your team.

Pros

• Burndown charts display the remaining work over time. They help teams track whether they are on schedule to meet sprint goals.

• One chart provides teams with a single place to track project progress. It aligns everyone’s priorities with what is happening during the sprint.

• Gaps between the actual and ideal lines reveal blockers or scope issues. Teams can address these early before they impact the sprint.

• The chart provides teams with an easy way to talk about workload and productivity. It eliminates the need to sort through multiple tools to understand progress.

Cons

• Burndown charts only show what changed in the work. They do not explain why it happened.

• Added or removed work does not appear on the chart. This can conceal scope creep unless teams track changes in other ways.

• A burndown chart does not record changes to scope or priorities. Teams often pair the chart with a product. Teams often combine the chart with a product backlog and a change control process to monitor those shifts and keep an accurate view of the work.

• A burn chart only shows remaining effort. It doesn't reveal risks, dependencies, quality issues, or long-term product signals.

Improve efficiency with a burndown chart

A burndown chart gives your team members a single place to track work throughout a sprint. Creating your chart in Asana streamlines burndown updates and both automates and visualizes Agile and Scrum workflows. Asana also makes it easier to spot early signs of scope creep, connect tasks to goals, and organize every part of the sprint in one shared workspace.

FAQs about using burndown charts