Agile Delivery · tool 6 of 6

Burndown and Burnup Charts

Burndown and Burnup Charts: shows progress and scope change at a glance.

Best for: Tracking iterations and releases · Time: 5 min a day
Domain: Schedule · Focus area: Monitoring and Controlling

How it works

A burndown shows work remaining. A burnup shows work completed against total scope. Burnups are better when scope changes, because the top line moves visibly.

Burnup makes scope creep visible.
Count only finished work.
Look at the trend, not the day.

How to apply it

Choose hours or points.
Update it from the board.
Discuss the trend.
Show scope changes openly.

In practice

Progress looks flat on a burndown, but the burnup shows scope grew 30%.

Pro tip

Use a burnup with stakeholders. It answers “why isn’t it finished yet?” honestly.

Use it

Playbook: Scope keeps growing

Quick check

Which chart best shows scope growth?

Sources

PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition, and The Standard for Project Management (PMI, 2025)

Last reviewed 2026-11-02 against the PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition · Practitioner review pending · How this guide is made