Team Velocity Calculation Methods
Do you calculate velocity as total points completed divided by sprints, or rolling average, or something else? Our team size fluctuates (vacations, sick days) so simple averages feel misleading.
Normalize for team capacity. Track 'points per person per sprint' not just raw points. If you have 5 devs one sprint and 3 the next, raw velocity drops but per-person velocity might stay consistent.
We use: (Total Points Completed) / (Number of Dev Days Available). Accounts for PTO, sick leave, everything.
3-sprint rolling average, period. Smooths out the noise from holidays, incidents, team changes. Report this to stakeholders, not individual sprint velocity. We also track velocity trend (up/down/flat) which is more useful than absolute numbers.
Weighted average favoring recent sprints. Last sprint = 50%, sprint-2 = 30%, sprint-3 = 20%. Adapts faster to real changes (new tools, team growth) while still being stable. Simple average treats ancient sprint data same as last week.
Controversial: don't calculate velocity, calculate throughput. Count number of stories completed, not points. Points are relative and drift over time. Story count is objective. We switched and forecasting got way more accurate.