Velocity isn’t how many story points a team burns down

TL;DR; Velocity is about how quickly your team delivers value, not just story points completed. Focus on measuring time to build, self-test, deploy, and learn from user feedback, as these are actionable and within your control. Start tracking these metrics to improve your delivery speed and effectiveness.

Published on 10 March 2025

Written by Martin Hinshelwood

1 minute read

https://nkdagility.com/resources/14E6bk6Lmo4

Velocity isn’t how many story points a team burns down. It’s how quickly you can turn an idea into value. That’s why the Azure DevOps team measured it using four key metrics:

Time to Build: From code change to a successful build. Faster builds mean faster feedback.
Time to Self-Test: How long automated tests take to run. The shorter, the better.
Time to Deploy: How fast a validated build reaches production.
Time to Learn: How quickly user feedback informs the next decision.

These metrics aren’t theoretical—they represent real stages in the flow of work, entirely within engineering’s control. No outside approval needed, no excuses. If you’re not measuring them, you’re not serious about continuous delivery.

Also published on: LinkedIn

Connect with Martin Hinshelwood

If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.

Our Happy Clients

We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.