Definition
Burnup Chart
A burnup chart tracks completed work rising toward a total-scope line over time. Unlike a burndown, which only shows remaining work falling toward zero, a burnup plots two lines — work done and total scope — so scope changes are visible as movement in the upper line. It distinguishes 'falling behind' from 'scope was added.'
Key takeaways
- A burnup chart tracks completed work rising toward a total-scope line over time. Unlike a burndown, which only shows remaining work falling toward zero, a burnup plots two lines — work done and total scope — so scope changes are visible as movement in the upper line. It distinguishes 'falling behind' from 'scope was added.'
- A burnup has time on the horizontal axis and work on the vertical, like a burndown, but it inverts the framing: one line climbs as items are completed, and a second line marks the total committed scope.
- Burnups scale up well to projects and initiatives, not just cycles, because making scope change explicit matters more the longer the effort runs.
A burnup has time on the horizontal axis and work on the vertical, like a burndown, but it inverts the framing: one line climbs as items are completed, and a second line marks the total committed scope. Progress is the gap closing between them. The team is done when the completed line meets the scope line.
The reason to prefer a burnup over a burndown is the second line. In a burndown, remaining work can stay flat for two completely different reasons — the team isn't finishing, or new work was added — and the chart cannot tell them apart. A burnup separates them cleanly: if the team is falling behind, the lower line flattens; if scope grew, the upper line steps up. That distinction is exactly the conversation a mid-project status check needs to have.
Burnups scale up well to projects and initiatives, not just cycles, because making scope change explicit matters more the longer the effort runs. Paired with historical throughput, the slope of the completed line also supports forecasting — projecting when the two lines will meet given the team's real pace.
Related terms
- BurndownA burndown chart tracks remaining work against time over a cycle, sloping from the total scope down toward zero as items are completed. It shows whether a team is on pace to finish what it committed to, making slippage visible early. The ideal line falls steadily; a flat line warns that work is stalling.
- ThroughputThroughput is the number of work items a team completes in a given period — issues finished per week, for example. It is the simplest flow metric: a direct count of output over time. Tracked across periods, throughput reveals a team's real delivery capacity and is the basis for probabilistic, estimate-free forecasting.
- Scope CreepScope creep is the gradual, uncontrolled expansion of a project's requirements after work has begun — small additions and 'while we're at it' requests that accumulate until the original plan no longer fits the time or budget. It is a leading cause of missed deadlines, because each addition feels minor but the total quietly overruns the commitment.
- Cycle (Sprint)A cycle — often called a sprint — is a fixed, repeating time-box, usually one or two weeks, during which a team commits to a focused set of work and aims to finish it. Cycles create a regular cadence for planning, focus, and review, turning an open-ended backlog into shippable increments.