How to Create a Release Burn-Down Chart

The Agile methodology provides project teams the ability to quickly adapt the project to the current situation and thus achieve maximum productivity. According to the Scrum method, the steps needed to fulfill the project goal breaks down by using short sprints or iterations. The iterations together with an extensive collaboration can increase productivity by better understanding the entire flow of a project.

A Release burn-down chart is used to track progress on a Scrum project. It should be updated at the end of each iteration. The horizontal axis of the release burn-down chart represents the iterations; the vertical axis shows the amount of work remaining at the start of each sprint. Work remaining can be displayed in story points. The Scrum Workflow solution is a paid add-on to ConceptDraw DIAGRAM that provides Agile project team the ability to quickly build any professional Scrum diagram such as a Release velocity chart, Release burn-down chart, Sprint burn-down chart, or a Team velocity chart.

1. Open ConceptDraw DIAGRAM new document page.
2. Find the Scrum Workflow in the Solutions panel.
3. Click the Scrum charts library preview to open it in the Library panel. Select the Release burn-down chart object and add it to the drawing by dragging from the library panel to the document page.

4. To make changes to your chart use the Action button menu. To open the menu select an object and click the action button in the upper right corner of the object.

5. You can add or remove sprints. Also it is possible to define your own number of sprints, or change the display scale of a main variable using the action "Set max value".

6. To set the burn-down chart values, select the corresponding field in the data table, type the new value and the chart will be automatically changed.

7. Once all the Sprint points are plotted on your burn-down chart, the data table can be hidden.

8. Finally, you can export your drawing as MS PowerPoint® and Adobe PDF using the Export options from the File menu.

Result: The Release burn-down chart is an important part of Agile project communication flow. It provides the Agile team with a clear vision of the project progress.