a·gen·tic a·gil·i·ty

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
1 minute read
Image
https://nkdagility.com/resources/14E6bk6Lmo4
Subscribe

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:

  1. Time to Build: From code change to a successful build. Faster builds mean faster feedback.
  2. Time to Self-Test: How long automated tests take to run. The shorter, the better.
  3. Time to Deploy: How fast a validated build reaches production.
  4. 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
Smart Classifications

Each classification [Concepts, Categories, & Tags] was assigned using AI-powered semantic analysis and scored across relevance, depth, and alignment. Final decisions? Still human. Always traceable. Hover to see how it applies.

Subscribe

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.​

Trayport Logo

Trayport

Healthgrades Logo

Healthgrades

DFDS Logo

DFDS

ALS Life Sciences Logo

ALS Life Sciences

Emerson Process Management Logo

Emerson Process Management

Kongsberg Maritime Logo

Kongsberg Maritime

Hubtel Ghana Logo

Hubtel Ghana

Qualco Logo

Qualco

Freadom Logo

Freadom

Illumina Logo

Illumina

Slaughter and May Logo

Slaughter and May

SuperControl Logo

SuperControl

Philips Logo

Philips

Bistech Logo

Bistech

Milliman Logo

Milliman

Workday Logo

Workday

YearUp.org Logo

YearUp.org

Higher Education Statistics Agency Logo

Higher Education Statistics Agency

Royal Air Force Logo

Royal Air Force

New Hampshire Supreme Court Logo

New Hampshire Supreme Court

Ghana Police Service Logo

Ghana Police Service

Washington Department of Enterprise Services Logo

Washington Department of Enterprise Services

Washington Department of Transport Logo

Washington Department of Transport

Department of Work and Pensions (UK) Logo

Department of Work and Pensions (UK)

Healthgrades Logo

Healthgrades

Xceptor - Process and Data Automation Logo

Xceptor - Process and Data Automation

Slicedbread Logo

Slicedbread

Lockheed Martin Logo

Lockheed Martin

DFDS Logo

DFDS

Big Data for Humans Logo

Big Data for Humans