January 20, 2025

Agile Metrics that Matter

When working in any Agile environment, the metrics we keep can be powerful tools to help a team assess their performance, identify bottlenecks, and improve over time. My time here at Acklen Avenue has taught me that certain metrics consistently provide valuable insights into how well our teams are functioning and delivering value to our clients. In this blog post, I’ll share the most common metrics we use, why they matter, and how we approach them to ensure they serve the team rather than hinder it.

Metrics We Track

Here is a list of metrics that we’ve found most useful:

  • Total Delivered Tickets over a period: This gives us a very high-level view of the work completed over a given period.
  • Delivered Tickets per Epic and Epic Completion: Tracking this helps us understand progress toward larger business objectives and prioritize the work we need to work on first.
  • Backlog Growth: Monitoring the rate at which new work is added ensures that the backlog remains manageable.
  • Weekly Velocity: A steady velocity indicates consistent delivery and helps with sprint planning and forecasting.
  • Cycle Time: Measuring how long it takes to move a ticket from start to finish helps frame a team’s overall efficiency.
  • Time in State: This tracks how long tickets remain in specific workflow states, identifying bottlenecks and providing the team with an insight into what they need to work on.
  • Amount of Rework: Highlighting the tickets that need rework can reveal quality or communication issues that arise in the process.

The Power of Weekly Velocity

Of all these metrics, Weekly Velocity is the one I monitor most closely. It’s essentially a great summary metric that reflects the health of all the other metrics. A consistent velocity suggests that the team is functioning smoothly with minimal disruptions.If velocity fluctuates, it can be a signal to investigate further. Are tickets getting stuck in certain states? Is rework increasing? Are team members feeling burned out? These are all questions worth exploring when velocity dips unexpectedly.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Metrics

While metrics are important, they’re not the ultimate goal—delivering a high-quality, working product is. One of the risks of tracking metrics is that they can inadvertently become the focus rather than a tool. For instance, if a team feels pressured to hit a certain velocity, they might prioritize easier work over more valuable or complex tasks, which can ultimately hurt the product.

The key is to ensure that metrics are used in a humane and constructive manner. They should provide insights that help the team grow, not become a source of blame or stress. That’s why I’m always mindful of how we present and discuss metrics. If they’re not adding value or if they’re causing undue pressure, it’s time to reevaluate.

Sharing and Adapting Metrics

Transparency is a big part of our approach. I might share metrics with the team during retrospectives, using them as conversation starters. However, I’m careful not to let metrics dominate these discussions. Some retrospectives flow better without a focus on numbers, allowing the team to address what’s on their minds organically. But the numbers are always there for anyone that asks, we will never hide these under a rug if they don’t make us look good. The numbers paint a picture of what things are and are here to help us.

It’s also important to adapt. Just as Agile processes are iterative, so is the way we track and use metrics. If a particular metric isn’t serving the team, we adjust or drop it. The tools we use to track these metrics can vary as well. Finding the right tool for your team may take some experimentation, but it’s worth the effort to ensure you’re collecting data in a way that’s both efficient and meaningful. My go to’s for metric tracking are Screenful and good old Excel (or Google Sheets).

Final Thoughts

The most important factor in any Agile team’s success is the well-being of its members. Metrics can give us a sense of how things are going, but they can’t tell the whole story. Regular check-ins, one-on-ones, and simply paying attention to how team members are feeling often provide more actionable insights than any chart or graph.

Agile metrics are most effective when they’re used to empower teams, not constrain them. By focusing on delivering value, prioritizing team well-being, and remaining flexible in how we track and interpret data, we can create an environment where metrics enhance rather than hinder the development process.

A happy and supported team is far more likely to deliver greater results than one that feels micromanaged by metrics. At the end of the day, the goal isn’t to have perfect metrics—it’s to deliver a working product that meets the needs of our customers. And that’s what really matters.