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Gásten Sauzande
Gásten Sauzande

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Stop Chasing Velocity: What to Measure in Zenhub Instead

If you’ve ever been asked:

“Why isn’t the team’s velocity going up?”

…you know how frustrating that conversation can be.

Velocity gets treated like a scoreboard, when really it’s just one signal among many.

After running 100+ sprints, here’s why I stopped obsessing over velocity — and what I measure instead in Zenhub.


Why Velocity Misleads 🚦

Velocity is just the total points completed in a sprint.

But it says nothing about:

  • The quality of the increment
  • The amount of unplanned work handled
  • Team morale or burnout
  • Whether the work delivered was even valuable

Chasing velocity creates pressure to inflate estimates or cherry-pick easy tickets. That’s not agility — that’s gaming the system.


What to Measure Instead 📊

Here are 3 healthier metrics I track in Zenhub:

  1. Cycle Time

    • How long does it take for an issue to go from “In Progress” to “Done”?
    • Shorter cycle time = healthier flow.
  2. Work in Progress (WIP)

    • How many issues are active at once?
    • Too much WIP = context switching = slower delivery.
  3. Sprint Goal Completion

    • Did we meet the outcome we set at Sprint Planning?
    • Even if velocity was “low,” the sprint was valuable if the goal was hit.

Wrapping Up 🎯

Velocity is a data point, not a target. If you want to really understand team health in Zenhub, look at cycle time, WIP, and sprint goal completion.


💡 I created a free Scrum Master Checklist that helps you keep retros, dailies, and sprint planning focused — so metrics actually reflect reality.

👉 Grab the Free Checklist


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