How do you estimate sprint capacity and velocity?

1 What is sprint capacity?

Sprint capacity is the amount of work that your team can realistically complete in a sprint, based on their availability, skills, and effort. It is usually expressed in hours or story points, which are units of relative complexity or value assigned to each user story or task. To estimate sprint capacity, you need to consider factors such as team size, holidays, vacations, meetings, and other commitments that may affect your team's time and focus.

3 How to estimate sprint capacity and velocity?

One of the most common methods to estimate sprint capacity and velocity is to use the team's historical data and apply a simple formula. For example, if your team uses story points, you can multiply the average sprint velocity by the number of available working days in the next sprint, and then divide by the average number of working days in the previous sprints. This will give you an estimate of how many story points your team can handle in the next sprint. Alternatively, you can use hours as the unit of measurement, and multiply the average hours per story point by the estimated sprint capacity.

4 How to use sprint capacity and velocity for planning?

Once you have an estimate of your sprint capacity and velocity, you can use them to plan and prioritize your work for the next sprint. You can start by creating a sprint backlog, which is a list of user stories or tasks that your team commits to deliver in the next sprint. You can select the items from the product backlog, which is a list of all the features and requirements that your product owner or stakeholder wants to achieve. You can use your sprint capacity and velocity as a guide to determine how many items you can fit in the sprint backlog, and how to rank them by importance, urgency, and dependency.

5 How to adjust sprint capacity and velocity over time?

Sprint capacity and velocity are not fixed or static numbers. They can change over time, depending on various factors such as team dynamics, customer feedback, technical challenges, and market conditions. Therefore, it is important to monitor and adjust them regularly, based on your team's actual performance and experience. You can use tools such as sprint burndown charts, sprint reviews, and retrospectives to track and evaluate your team's progress, identify and resolve issues, and implement improvements. You can also use sprint capacity and velocity as inputs for forecasting and budgeting, as well as for setting and communicating realistic expectations and goals.