What is the difference between burndown and burnup chart in Jira?

Burndown Chart Overview

A burndown chart shows the amount of work remaining in a sprint over time. It typically tracks the remaining effort in story points or hours against the sprint timeline. This visual helps teams assess their progress toward completing all tasks by the end of the sprint.

• Y-axis: Work remaining
• X-axis: Time (days in the sprint)
• Ideal line: Represents the ideal progress

Burnup Chart Overview

A burnup chart, on the other hand, displays the amount of work completed over time. It also shows the total scope of work, allowing teams to see how much has been added or removed during the sprint. This chart is particularly useful for tracking changes in scope.

• Y-axis: Work completed
• X-axis: Time (days in the sprint)
• Total scope line: Represents the total work

Key Differences

The main difference between burndown and burnup charts lies in what they measure:

• Burndown: Focuses on remaining work, ideal for tracking progress toward completion.
• Burnup: Focuses on completed work and scope changes, providing a broader view of project status.

In practice, both charts serve unique purposes. Teams might prefer one over the other based on their specific needs. For instance, a burndown chart is great for sprint management, while a burnup chart is beneficial for understanding scope changes. At ThinkLouder, we emphasize the importance of choosing the right tools for effective Scrum management, having trained over 55,000 practitioners since 2001.

For more insights on effective Scrum practices, check out our articles on good burndown charts and the 20-30-50 rule in Agile.

Related Resources

• To dive deeper into burndown charts, learn how to explain a burndown chart effectively.
• To understand the specific purpose of one of these charts, read What is the purpose of a burn-down chart?.
• For a focused look at sprint progress, learn what is a burndown chart in Scrum.