🔍 Planned vs Actual chart deep dive: Visualize commitment vs delivery in real time ⚡

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Sprint commitments often feel like wishful thinking. Teams promise a scope at planning, but by the end, reality looks different. Was it scope creep? Execution gaps? Without visibility into how commitments evolved throughout the sprint, you're left guessing what went wrong and how to improve.

The Planned vs. Actual chart, part of the Agile Velocity Charts app by Broken Build, provides the missing visibility, tracking not just what was planned versus what was delivered, but also how the scope changed along the way.

👉 Want to see it in action? Explore the Planned vs Actual chart 📊 interactive example to test configurations and see how it reveals the full commitment story.

Let's examine why Jira's native reporting falls short for this type of analysis.

The limitations of Jira's native chart

Jira includes a Velocity report that shows basic commitment versus completion metrics. It's a starting point, but for teams serious about understanding commitment reliability, it barely scratches the surface.

Here's what's missing:

📊 Only shows totals, not percentages – You can't fairly compare sprints or teams of different sizes without relative metrics.

🚫 Single-board restriction – No way to combine multiple teams or boards into one unified view for program-level analysis.

❌ No final commitment tracking – The report doesn't show how the scope evolved during the sprint, only the initial plan and what got done.

🔍 Zero scope change visibility – You can't see what was added, removed, or re-estimated mid-sprint, making root cause analysis impossible.

⚙️ No customization or targets – Fixed format with no benchmarks, drill-downs, or filters to adapt it to your workflow.

If you need to measure the say/do ratio with real precision, understand why commitments shift, or track reliability across multiple teams, Jira's native Velocity report won't get you there.

There's a better way to analyze commitment reliability.

Powerful alternative: Planned vs Actual chart by Broken Build

The Planned vs Actual chart transforms commitment tracking from a simple before-and-after comparison into a comprehensive analysis of how and why sprint goals were met, missed, or changed.

Unlike Jira's Velocity report, this chart tracks four critical metrics: initial commitment, final commitment, total scope change, and completed work. This gives you visibility into whether missed goals came from unstable scope or execution challenges.

Who it helps: Team Leads track commitment reliability and identify whether goals were missed due to scope creep or delivery gaps. Agile Coaches use it in retrospectives to highlight the say/do ratio trends. RTEs and Delivery Managers monitor scope stability across multiple teams, spotting systemic risks early.

Now, let's dig into the features that make this chart indispensable for Agile teams.

Planned vs actual chart: Key features & JTBD

The Planned vs Actual chart isn't just about comparing two numbers. It's designed to answer the hard questions: Why did we miss our goal? Was it realistic? How stable was our scope?

Here are the five features that make it work.

1️⃣ Analyze the say/do ratio with commitment metrics

This chart tracks four core metrics that tell the complete commitment story:

• Initial commitment – The scope planned at the sprint start.

• Final commitment – The scope at sprint end, after mid-sprint changes.

• Total scope change – How much work was added, removed, or re-estimated during the sprint.

• Completed work – The total delivered scope, including items added mid-sprint.

Metrics are displayed as percentages relative to the initial commitment by default, but you can switch to final commitment ratios or absolute values depending on your analysis needs.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Measure commitment reliability at the team or ART level with precise, quantifiable metrics.

• Identify root causes – Distinguish between scope instability and low throughput.

• Drive accountability – Make commitments and outcomes transparent for everyone.

2️⃣ Track commitments with target lines

Set target lines on your Planned vs Actual report to benchmark performance against predefined thresholds. Targets can be absolute values or percentages relative to initial or final commitment.

For example, add a line at 90% of the initial commitment to see if teams consistently meet their planned scope. Targets are fully customizable: adjust the value, choose the ratio basis, and assign colors or labels for instant clarity.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Define clear expectations – Set delivery standards like "at least 85% of committed work should be completed."

• Spot underperformance – Instantly see when execution falls below acceptable levels.

• Align teams and stakeholders – Create shared benchmarks for commitment reliability across the organization.

3️⃣ Customize what counts as "Done"

Different teams have different definitions of done. One board might count work as complete when it hits "Dev Done," while another only considers it done when it's released to production.

The Plan vs Actual chart lets you configure Done statuses separately for each board, ensuring every team's results reflect their actual workflow. Stick with the default (all statuses in the last column) or select specific statuses per board.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Accurate reporting – Each team's commitments and completions are measured against their real definition of done.

• Respect workflow differences – Support multiple boards without forcing one-size-fits-all processes.

• Standardize at scale – Align done criteria at the program or ART level while respecting team autonomy.

4️⃣ Drill into details with breakdowns

Go beyond high-level numbers by opening the Breakdown table for any sprint or interval. For each metric (initial commitment, final commitment, scope change, completed work), you'll see:

• Ratio – Percentage relative to the ratio basis.

• Trend – How the metric changed compared to the previous sprint.

• Average – The historical benchmark.

• Total – The absolute value.

You can expand results into two configurable nesting levels – such as board → epic → issue type – and trace metrics back to individual work items and assignees through the issue list.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Identify drivers – Pinpoint which boards, epics, or issue types contribute most to commitment gaps.

• Spot systemic patterns – Compare trends across teams to surface organizational bottlenecks.

• Drive accountability – Connect aggregated metrics directly to individual work items and team contributions.

5️⃣ Compare delivery with stacked bar view

Switch to the Stacked bar view for a more intuitive visual comparison of planned versus delivered work. In this mode, you decide which metrics appear as stacked bars and which display as lines overlaid on top.

The strength of stacked bars is that you can combine metrics that always add up to 100%, making visual comparisons effortless. For example, display Completed work + Not completed work as stacked bars with Initial commitment as a line to see exactly how delivery measured up to the plan.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Simplify stakeholder communication – Show a clear "planned vs. delivered" picture that anyone can understand.

• Highlight completion rates – Instantly see the share of completed versus uncompleted work in each sprint.

• Maintain context – Keep the commitment baseline visible while analyzing actual outcomes.

Value summary: These five features work together to give you complete visibility into commitment reliability. You're not just seeing whether a goal was hit – you're understanding why, identifying patterns, and equipping your team with the insights needed to improve continuously.

How the Planned vs Actual chart works in action (Interactive example)

The best way to understand the power of the Planned vs Actual chart is to try it yourself. The interactive example lets you adjust settings, toggle between display modes, configure metrics, and see how different visualizations reveal insights about sprint commitments.

👉 Explore the Planned vs Actual chart in Jira 📊 interactive demo.

Play with target lines, switch between percentage and absolute views, test the breakdown table, and experience how easy it is to uncover patterns in your team's commitment reliability.

Planned vs actual chart: Pro tips

Once you've mastered the basics, these tips will help you squeeze even more value from the Planned vs Actual graph in the Jira dashboard.

📆 Adjust reporting periods strategically – For sprint planning, focus on the last 3-6 sprints to spot recent trends. For quarterly reviews or PI planning, expand to 10-12 sprints to assess long-term improvement patterns and identify cyclical bottlenecks.

📊 Combine metrics for deeper analysis – Add supplementary metrics like "Completed work (initial)" to see how much of the original commitment was delivered, or "Rollover" to track unfinished work moving into the next sprint. These combinations reveal whether delivery gaps stem from overcommitment or under-delivery.

🎯 Highlight mean, median, or moving averages – Overlay statistical benchmarks on your chart to smooth out sprint-to-sprint volatility and focus on sustained trends. This is especially useful when presenting to executives who need high-level patterns, not sprint noise.

🔍 Use custom JQL for advanced filtering – Narrow your analysis to exactly the issues that matter. For example, filter by priority to see commitment reliability on critical work, or use advanced JQL functions to create tailored views for specific initiatives or releases.

Setting up the Planned vs Actual chart on your Jira Dashboard

The Planned vs Actual chart is part of the Agile Velocity Charts app, available as a standalone gadget or included in the Agile Reports & Gadgets bundle. Setup is quick and straightforward.

Once installed, adding the chart to your dashboard takes just a few clicks:

1️⃣ Navigate to your Jira dashboard – Go to the dashboard where you want to add the gadget.

2️⃣ Click "Add gadget" – Look for the gadget menu in the upper-right corner.

3️⃣ Search for "Agile Velocity Charts" – Find the app in the gadget list.

4️⃣ Click "Add" and configure – Select your board(s), choose filters (issue types, epics, releases), set the reporting interval, and adjust display options like metrics, target lines, and done statuses.

You're all set – your Planned vs Actual chart is now live on your dashboard, ready to surface insights and drive better commitment practices across your team!

🎯 Start making smarter sprint commitments!

When teams understand the difference between promising and delivering, they stop setting unrealistic goals and start building trust with stakeholders. The Planned vs Actual chart turns vague gut feelings about sprint performance into clear, measurable insights.

✅ Key advantages at a glance:

• Track initial commitment, final commitment, scope changes, and completed work in one unified view

• Compare multiple boards and teams to assess program-level reliability

• Drill down by board, epic, issue type, or custom fields to trace metrics back to individual work items

• Set benchmarks with target lines and measure performance against clear expectations

• Respect different workflows by configuring done statuses per board

👉 See it in action: Try the Planned vs Actual chart example 📊 to explore how commitment tracking transforms sprint planning and retrospectives.

To use the Planned vs Actual chart, install either the Agile Velocity Charts app as a standalone gadget or the Agile Reports & Gadgets bundle. Both options come with a 30-day free trial, are free for teams of up to 10 users, and require no credit card to get started.

🚀 Ready to bring transparency to your sprint commitments? Add the Planned vs Actual chart to your Jira Dashboard today and start building a culture of realistic planning and reliable delivery.

✨ Your team's next sprint starts with better visibility. Make it count.