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PMP lesson · Agile Metrics & Events · Agile metrics · lesson 1 of 5 · about 6 minutes

Burndown and burn-up charts

Agile and hybridFree preview
Goal: After this lesson you can read burndown and burn-up charts, recognise the warning patterns, and choose the right chart for sprints and releases.

1The situation

The cliff at the end

For several sprints, the MES team's burndown chart has stayed almost flat until the last two days, then dropped sharply. In daily meetings, most stories are “nearly done” for most of the sprint.

On the release level, stakeholders complain the team is “slowing down”, but the burn-up shows the completed line rising steadily while the scope line climbs even faster.

Both charts were telling the truth; nobody was reading them correctly.

2Two charts, two questions

Both charts are simple information radiators:

Burndown
How much is left?
Remaining work over time; ideal line goes to zero at the end of the sprint.
Burn-up
How much is done, and how big is the target?
Completed work rises; a separate line shows total scope.
Flat then a cliff on a burndown = stories too big or too much work started at once. Scope line rising on a burn-up = the date moves because of new scope, not slow work.

3Healthy vs warning burndown

Healthy: steady progressWarning: flat, then a cliffdays 1–10work “90% done” for days
Dashed = ideal. Left: steady finishing. Right: little finished until the end.

4How it looks on the exam

Exam-style question 1. For several sprints, the burndown chart has stayed almost flat until the final two days, then dropped sharply. The team says most stories are 'nearly done' for most of the sprint. What does this MOST likely indicate?
A. High efficiency at the end
B. Stories are too large or too much work is in progress; the team should split stories and finish items before starting new ones
C. The chart is updated incorrectly
D. The team should halve its commitment
Show the answer and the decode
Answer: B.
In simple English
Nothing finishes until the end.
What is the question really asking?
What the pattern means.
Key words / trigger
“flat until the final two days”
PMP logic
Large stories and too much WIP delay completion; smaller stories and WIP limits create steady flow.
Why the wrong answer looks attractive
A strong finish looks good, but it hides risk until the last moment.

5Remember this

Your memory card

  • Burndown = work remaining (sprint) · burn-up = work done + scope line (release)
  • Flat then cliff → stories too big / too much WIP
  • Rising scope line → the date moves because of scope, not speed
  • Only done work counts
The full lesson in the PMCLEAR app also has:
  • the rest of the lesson (Reading the patterns)
  • a worked example
  • the common traps (wrong vs right)
  • 2 exam-style questions with the decode
  • a 3-question quick check
Open the full lesson → Create a free account
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