Burndown Chart — Explained with Examples

Burndown chart is a visual chart used in Scrum and Agile project management that plots the amount of remaining work (y-axis) against time (x-axis). The ideal burndown is a straight line from “total work” down to zero on the last day of the Sprint. The actual burndown shows real progress.

If the actual line is above the ideal line, the team is behind schedule. If below, they’re ahead. A burndown that goes up mid-sprint indicates new work was added. Burnup charts are a related variation that tracks both completed work and total scope, making scope changes visible. Burndown charts help teams quickly communicate progress and make data-driven decisions about scope and timeline.

Real-world analogy. Burndown chart is like a fuel gauge on a road trip. You know the total distance (total work) and the time budget (sprint length). As you drive, the gauge and distance-to-destination tick down. If you’re losing fuel faster than expected, you either slow down (reduce scope) or find a gas station (adjust plans).

Example (Simple burndown data):

Day  | Remaining (story points)
─────┼──────────────────────────
  1  │  40
  2  │  32
  3  │  26
  4  │  20
  5  │  18 (scope added)
  6  │  10
  7  │  4
  8  │  0 (sprint end)

Related terms: Scrum, Sprint, Agile, Kanban, Standup

Related tutorial: Burndown Chart Guide