What is velocity?

• A. The number of defects per iteration
• B. The total number of user stories committed
• C. The time to complete the entire backlog
• D. The total effort estimates of completed user stories in an iteration

Answer: (D)

Velocity is a Scrum metric that measures how much work a team completes in an iteration, calculated by summing the story point estimates of all user stories that meet the Definition of Done. It reflects the completed scope, not the number of defects, not the total stories planned, and not the time required to finish the entire backlog. Teams use velocity to forecast what they can realistically finish in future iterations and to observe trends over time. Since only completed work counts, any story not finished doesn’t contribute to velocity, reinforcing the importance of a clear Definition of Done and stable estimation practices.