Sprint Rollover Rate
Sprint Rollover Rate measures the percentage of work committed at the start of the sprint that is not completed by the end. It reflects how well teams match sprint plans to capacity and whether delivery is consistently disrupted or misestimated.
Calculation
Rollover typically includes any committed work (usually stories or tickets) that remains incomplete at the end of the sprint. This excludes stretch goals or tasks added mid-sprint. Work is commonly measured in story points or ticket count. Use the same unit consistently across sprints to preserve comparability.
The metric is calculated by dividing the amount of committed but incomplete work by the total committed scope:
sprint rollover rate = incomplete planned work ÷ total planned sprint work × 100
Goals
Sprint Rollover Rate helps teams evaluate the reliability of their sprint planning and execution. It answers questions like:
- Are we consistently completing the work we commit to?
- Are unexpected blockers, changes, or overcommitments impacting delivery?
- Is our sprint planning process grounded in actual capacity?
This metric helps teams adjust planning habits and maintain a sustainable delivery rhythm.
Variations
This metric is sometimes referred to as Sprint Carryover Rate, Sprint Spillover Rate, Sprint Completion Ratio (as an inverse), or simply Rollover Rate. While phrasing varies, each reflects the proportion of work that did not reach completion within the original sprint boundary.
Rollover Rate can also be segmented:
- By work type, to identify whether bugs, features, or chores are more likely to roll over
- By priority, to reveal whether high-value items are more or less likely to be delayed
- By assignee or team, to assess execution consistency and capacity alignment
Some teams measure this in units of effort (e.g. story points) while others use simple ticket counts. Both approaches are valid if applied consistently.
Limitations
Sprint Rollover Rate does not indicate why work wasn’t completed. It could reflect overcommitment, scope changes, dependencies, or mid-sprint disruptions.
The metric also treats all incomplete work equally. Rolling over a critical feature and a low-priority task both affect the percentage equally, even if the business impact differs.
To gain more insight into sprint execution, pair this metric with:
| Complementary Metric | Why It’s Relevant |
|---|---|
| Planning Accuracy | Reveals how well committed scope matches historical delivery capacity. |
| Sprint Scope Creep | Shows whether new work added during the sprint is crowding out planned scope. |
| Work in Progress (WIP) | Helps identify whether too much concurrent work is blocking completion. |
Optimization
Reducing Sprint Rollover Rate involves improving how teams estimate, commit, and execute sprint work.
-
Use historical velocity as a baseline. Plan based on what the team typically completes. Stable sprint velocity makes it easier to set realistic goals.
-
Refine backlog items thoroughly. Ensure work meets the Definition of Ready before sprint planning. Unclear or oversized tickets are more likely to be delayed or broken up mid-sprint.
-
Track and limit scope changes. If teams regularly take on new work during the sprint, use Sprint Scope Creep to track additions and set clearer boundaries with stakeholders.
-
Promote finish-before-start culture. Encourage the team to swarm on in-progress work before starting new tasks. High rollover often stems from excessive WIP and fragmented focus.
-
Address external dependencies early. If rolled-over work is frequently blocked by design, security, or other teams, flag those risks in planning and escalate ownership before the sprint begins.
Rollover is not inherently bad, but when it becomes routine, it signals a mismatch between commitment and execution. This metric helps teams improve delivery discipline while staying responsive to real-world complexity.
