Cross-team performance tracking in Jira: from velocity metrics to benchmarking charts

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“What’s the difference between the cross-team Velocity chart and Benchmarking chart for cross-teams?“ - This question the Broken Build team doesn’t get often, but we still thought we should finally give a detailed explanation once and for all.

Both charts should ideally be used together, giving different perspectives on teams' productivity.

Using our Agile Velocity Chart Gadget, you get access to both of these charts' insights, but how do you know which to focus on? Let’s explore how each chart adds unique value and why combining them leads to better decisions.

📊 Cross-team Velocity chart: sprint performance insights

Ideal for managers of multiple teams (e.g., RTEs, Delivery Managers), this chart goes beyond tracking cross-team progress - it uncovers the “why” behind it.

🚀Features:

• Sprint Metrics:
  Get a clear picture of cross-team performance across 10 advanced metrics - from initial & final commitment to rollover, scope change, and more.

• Sprint breakdown:
  Slice and dice sprint data by board, issue type, priority, assignee, etc. Thanks to a 3-level breakdown (sprint metric + breakdown #1 + breakdown #2) and issue list drill-down, you can pinpoint exactly what’s slowing your team down.

• Target lines:
  Add flat or moving target lines for each metric to instantly identify whether performance is on track, falling behind, or improving.

The challenge of multiple teams' performance comparison

Comparing team performance isn’t as simple as lining up story point totals. Here’s why:

📉 Absolute velocity metrics can be misleading
Each team has unique sprint setups, estimation styles, and workflows - so "30 story points" in one team, ≠ "30" in another. Without a shared context, you’ll end up comparing apples to oranges.

➡️ Use relative metrics like the say-do ratio and gain meaningful cross-team insights.

Meet the Benchmarking chart: compare velocity across multiple teams at a glance

The Benchmarking Chart showcases data where each team is presented as a separate bar, making comparisons and performance benchmarking quick and intuitive.

🚀Features:

• Cross-Team perspective: Compares multiple teams at once, with a data grouping by sprints, months, or quarters.

• Benchmarks: In addition to the target lines, the chart compares a team’s completed work against key benchmarks - average, median, 75th, and 25th percentiles - to help you evaluate and compare sprint performance in context.

• Metrics: Select and switch sprint metrics above the chart to compare teams by one metric at a time.

• Breakdowns: The benchmarking chart offers the same 3-level breakdown + issue list as the velocity chart, giving users a necessary level of detail.

Key relative metrics in the benchmarking chart

All the benchmarking sprint metrics are relative values, as they are calculated based on either the initial or final commitment for each sprint. By comparing percentages instead of absolute numbers, you can spot trends, patterns, and outliers across multiple teams, even if their workflows differ.

Let’s elaborate on use cases and examples of some relative metrics in the benchmarking chart:

1️⃣ Rollover: shows the scope rolled over from the previous sprint vs. the initial/final commitment ratio.

Use case: high rollover % can suggest bottlenecks, unclear scope, or blockers. Comparing this across teams shows who needs a process adjustment.

2️⃣ Total scope change: shows the difference between the initial and final scope vs. the initial/final commitment ratio.

Use case: excellent for comparing scope stability across teams. Can indicate a need for better backlog grooming or stakeholder alignment.

3️⃣ Added work: shows the scope added during the sprint vs. the initial/final commitment ratio.

Use case: can be used to evaluate team agility or how much they’re pulled into unplanned work.

4️⃣ Completed work: shows how much of the initially committed work was completed.

Use case: ideal for assessing delivery consistency (say-do ratio). Teams with high variability may need help with planning or stability.

5️⃣ Estimation change: shows the re-estimated scope vs. the initial/final commitment ratio.

Use case: helps to spot unexpected changes or vaguely described user stories.

Velocity vs Benchmarking: different views, different goals

Both cross-team Velocity and Benchmarking charts provide valuable insights, but they serve very different purposes. Understanding when (and why) to use each one helps teams and leaders make smarter decisions.

The cross-team Velocity chart answers the question:
👉 "How is each team performing across sprints?"

It’s ideal for:

• Planning sprint capacity and setting realistic commitments

• Identifying trends: Is velocity improving or dropping?

• Reviewing scope creep or incomplete work via rollover

However, you can’t use it to compare multiple teams because:

• Team size, estimation methods, and workflow stages vary

• One team’s 40 points ≠ , another team’s 40 points

Think of it as a microscope: a detailed view, narrow scope.

The Benchmarking Chart zooms out. It answers:
👉 "How does this team perform compared to others?"

It’s built for:

• Cross-team comparison using relative values (e.g., commitment, rollover)

• Spotting outliers: which teams are overcommitting, underdelivering, or excelling?

• Strategic decisions: Where should we invest resources or coaching?

• Creating transparency across squads, programs, or ARTs (Agile Release Trains)

Think of it as a panoramic view: aligned metrics across all teams, big picture focus.

From detail to overview: using velocity and benchmarking together

No single chart tells the whole story of cross-team performance. Scrum Masters need detailed velocity data to track sprint progress, while senior management relies on high-level overviews to quickly compare teams and benchmark performance.

This is why we believe that having both cross-team velocity and benchmarking charts is vital for Agile project management and should ideally be used together. In this way, they offer a complete view - day-to-day team dynamics plus strategic cross-team comparisons. With our tool, the Agile Velocity Chart Gadget, you can easily switch between perspectives without losing sight of what matters.