Burnup / burndown charts in Jira: planning and forecasting with Agile Reports and Gadgets

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Nobody likes surprises in project delivery. Yet here we are, sprint after sprint, explaining why our initial forecasts were off.

Utilizing tools like the Jira burndown chart seems to help track team progress, manage tasks, and ensure deadlines are met effectively - but does it, really?

Let’s quickly review the most common forecasting charts Agile teams use (if you’re familiar with them already, then scroll down a few next paragraphs ⬇️)

Definition and purpose of burnup and burndown charts

Let's look at two key project tracking tools. A burnup chart displays completed work over time, focusing on achievements and progress. A burndown chart shows remaining work, tracking what's left to complete. Both tools are essential in Agile teams and integrate well with platforms like Jira and Azure DevOps.

Benefits of using burnup and burndown charts in Agile teams

There are few undeniable benefits in using these charts. There’re downsides, too, but we’ll get to them later.

🔮 Improved Forecasting: These charts enable accurate completion date predictions based on actual team performance data.

🔍 Enhanced Visibility: They provide straightforward project status information that's easy to understand for all team members and stakeholders.

📈 Better Planning: Teams use these charts to understand their real working capacity, leading to more accurate sprint planning.

🔦 Scope Management: The charts immediately highlight the impact of requirement changes on project timelines, supporting quick adjustments.

What about native Jira burnup and Jira burndown charts?

As the most Jira's built-in tools, both burnup and burndown charts are pretty limited. Here's what you're stuck with:

What works

✅ Basic sprint burndown visualization (shows basic progress for fixed-scope sprints)

✅ Scope change visibility (burnup shows growth, burndown shows deviations)

✅ Release tracking (both charts help track progress toward release goals)

✅ Gives different perspectives (burndown for remaining work, burnup for total scope)

What doesn't

🚫 Limited data sources (can't aggregate data across projects or teams)

🚫 No customization (no control over workflow stages or chart view)

🚫 Missing subtask tracking (story points on sub-tasks aren't included into calculation)

🚫 No historical data (forces you to guess future performance without past context)

🚫 You can’t play with forecasting (leaves you blind to potential delivery risks and timeline impacts)

🚫 You can’t add either burnup or burndown charts to the Jira dashboard—they remain buried in project reports.

Why your forecasting is broken (and it's not your fault)

These are the reasons why the traditional forecasting in Jira is broken. It’s trying to predict the weather by looking out your window - there are clues, for sure, but without real data you're just guessing.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: hidden complexity is eating your forecasts alive. Those "simple" stories? They're time bombs waiting to explode into five subtasks. Those "quick fixes"? They're gateway drugs to full system refactoring.

These limitations is why organizations turn to the Atlassian Marketplace for alternative solutions, such as the Agile Reports and Gadgets app.

So, instead of isolated snapshots, you get a complete picture of your project's direction right on your Jira dashboard.

What are the other advantages bring the burnup/burndown charts of the Agile Reports and Gadgets?

🧩 As we already mentioned, all Burnup and Burndown charts are gadgets that can be easily added to the Jira dashboard, giving you all the project data at a glance.

🧩 Unlike native Jira tools that keep you trapped in single-board silos, Agile Reports and Gadgets lets you aggregate data from multiple Scrum and Kanban boards, custom JQL filters, and various epic sources.

🧩 Multi-level data breakdown and issue list (a signature feature of all Broken Build apps) present data from different angles, highlighting hidden bottlenecks.

🧩 But the greatest power of these charts is their ability to analyze and forecast delivery data before and during the project.

Here’s how it works:

Before the project kick-off

This is the part where many project managers fail. They jump straight into execution without proper setup. Here's how to do it right with Agile Reports and Gadgets:

Learn from your past

• Pull data from previous projects and sprints to understand your team's real performance patterns

• Stop guessing about velocity - use actual numbers that show how your team delivers

Model your future

• Test different sprint lengths to find what works best for your team

• See how varying scope sizes affect delivery times

• Create workflow stages that match how your team actually works, not how you wish they worked

Get real about capacity

• Run the numbers on your backlog depth

• Check if your team can actually handle the work you're planning

• Break planning into quarters or months to keep it manageable

Set expectations right

• Create three scenarios: optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic

• Use historical data to set target dates you can actually hit

Using burnup / burndown charts during your project

Once your project is running, the Agile Reports and Gadgets app becomes your early warning system for incoming disasters. Instead of being blindsided by scope changes or team issues, you're ahead of the curve.

The app doesn't just show you what happened - it shows you what's happening right now. Scope changes? You'll see them before they derail your sprint. Multiple deadlines? Track them all simultaneously without losing your mind.

Deep insights

Forget basic progress bars. You get the full picture:

• See the progress of your initiatives

• Track parent-child relationships

• Monitor every stage that matters (Released, Done, Ready for test, Dev Done - whatever your process needs)

Cross-team intelligence

No more switching between different team views or piecing together progress manually. See how everything fits together in one view. The app shows you patterns across teams before they become problems.

Forecasting that makes sense

The Agile Reports and Gadgets app analyzes scope trends and work volumes to give you reliable finish dates you can actually trust.

Think about it: Instead of explaining why things went wrong, you're preventing them from going wrong in the first place.

Daily / sprint burndown charts so your stand-ups make more sense

Let's be honest - many people think daily stand-ups are a waste of time. Everyone recites what they did yesterday like they're reading a shopping list. But here’s how you transform these meetings into actual decision-making sessions:

Active sprint included

Instead of asking "what did you do yesterday?" you're leading conversations about real issues:

• Watch your sprint progress unfold in real-time

• Catch trending problems

• See scope changes the moment they happen

Progress under the microscope

• Two-level breakdowns showing exactly what's done, by whom, and what's left

• Cross-team visibility that shows how everything fits together

• Early warning signs of dependency issues

Using burnup / burndown charts by Agile Reports and Gadgets: examples

Release planning

Problem: Unable to predict realistic release dates due to changing team capacity.

Solution:

• Model different sprint lengths

• Test various velocity scenarios

• Validate backlog depth against team capacity

• Track multiple initiatives through parent links

Sprint planning

Problem: Your team consistently overcommits, taking on 40 story points when they've never completed more than 30.

Solution:

• Analyze historical velocity data across multiple sprints

• Pull data from previous similar projects

• Create realistic forecasts based on actual team performance

• Set up custom workflow stages to identify bottlenecks

Scope management

Problem: Your 100-point release ballooned to 150 points mid-way through.

Solution:

• Track scope trends using the app's forecasting capabilities

• Monitor remaining work growth patterns

• Use multi-level breakdowns to identify where scope creep happens most

Multi-team coordination

Problem: Three teams working on one release, each looking good in isolation but missing dependencies.

Solution:

• Set up cross-team progress views

• Use multiple data sources (boards, JQL filters, epics)

• Track dependencies through parent-subtask relationships

• Monitor program increment objectives in real-time

Stakeholder communication

Problem: Stakeholders demand firm delivery dates while the scope keeps changing.

Solution:

• Show multiple target dates simultaneously

• Present best/realistic/worst case scenarios based on actual data

• Use custom stage progress tracking (Released, Done, Ready for test)

• Demonstrate scope change impacts through trend analysis

Daily stand-up improvement

Problem: Stand-ups are status updates instead of decision-making sessions.

Solution:

• Include active sprints into the calculation

• Open 2-level breakdowns of completed/remaining work and switch the breakdown parameters for more clarity

• Track scope changes in real-time

• Display cross-team progress views for dependency discussions

Get real about your project

No tool will give you perfect forecasts. Development is messy, unpredictable, and full of surprises. But there's a massive difference between educated predictions and shooting in the dark.

Think about where most project managers spend their energy: explaining missed forecasts, negotiating scope changes, and trying to coordinate multiple teams. Now imagine spending that energy on actual improvement: refining processes, mentoring team members, and tackling real impediments. That's the difference data-driven forecasting makes.

Try Agile Reports and Gadgets. See the difference between basic burndown charts and sophisticated forecasting that reflects how software actually gets built. Your stakeholders will thank you. Your team will thank you. And most importantly, you'll stop explaining why your forecasts were wrong 😉