Which factor can artificially inflate velocity?

• A. Reducing the sprint scope
• B. Increasing test automation coverage
• C. Decreasing defect leakage
• D. Allowing the technical debt to be incurred

Answer: (D)

Velocity is the amount of work a team completes in a sprint, usually measured in story points that meet the Definition of Done. When technical debt is allowed to accumulate, teams often skip or shortcut essential activities like refactoring, thorough testing, or paying down existing debt in order to finish stories faster. That means the team can report a higher velocity in the short term, even though the overall quality and future work will worsen—the velocity number becomes inflated by the cost still hidden in the backlog. This is why incurring technical debt is the factor that can artificially boost the reported velocity.

Reducing sprint scope changes what’s attempted and can temporarily alter the velocity figure, but it isn’t the same mechanism of inflating velocity through compromised quality. Increasing test automation coverage or reducing defect leakage typically increases upfront work or improves quality, which tends to stabilize or reduce short-term velocity rather than inflate it.