My group is using TFS for resource commitments. To get a clear overview of the project schedule I would like to use a Gantt chart in MS Project with 3 week sprint periods so we can see how we are doing against the delivery schedule. The 3 week period is easy but I cannot get the timescale to line up were I want it. I would also like to add labels for sprint #1,#2, etc...
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1It would be useful to explain what you've tried, and why that isn't working for you.– Todd A. Jacobs ♦Mar 19, 2016 at 18:13
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It is not clear from your question exactly what issue you are encountering. Can you please provide more information on which timescales are not aligning and in what respect. What do you require and what is actually happening? VTC as unclear in the meantime.– Marv MillsMar 21, 2016 at 12:06
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I think OP is looking for a way to (1) set the fine grained timescale on the gantt chart to 3 week intervals and (2) set the medium grained timescale to arbitrary units (sprint x, sprint x+1). I think (1) can be done with some fiddling & experimentation. I am dubious that (2) is possible without heroic work.– MCWMar 21, 2016 at 17:55
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@CodeGnome, I find that using MS Project in this way is usually the reason that things are not working and projects are late ☺– MrHinsh - Martin HinshelwoodMar 22, 2016 at 1:50
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1 Answer
If you are looking to forecast sprints as part of Scrum then i would avoid the user of MS Project at all costs.
You would be better served looking at a Release Burndown or just simply projecting your known velocity onto you backlog.
The former can easily be plotted manually in Excel or on a physical board. It would take less than a minute each sprint to update and will give you better visibility and an understanding of progress towards your release goal.
https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/agile/scrum/release-Burndown
While not an official artifact of the Scrum Guide, it is useful for Product Owners.
The later is a feature built into the Backlog tool in VSTS/TFS. If you go to the Backlog view you will see your historical velocity represented as a graph at the top of the screen. From this you can estimate both your mean, as well as pessimistic and optimistic, velocity. Then turn on the forecast option to draw lines for future sprints based on the velocity of your choice to get a rolling projection of where on your backlog you might get to.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/Library/vs/alm/Work/scrum/velocity-and-forecasting
These are both good planning visualisations that can help you project into the future. You have to let go of the old ways of project management (they don't work) and adopt some new ones.
answered Mar 22, 2016 at 2:04
