File talk:SampleBurndownChart.png

To me it seems as if there's an error in the chart. The remaining effort increases on day 5. Normally I would calculate remaining effort as hour budget minus hours worked. So, unless there is a sudden budget increase, the remaining effort can never increase.

The only (far-fetched) explanation I can find is to assume that remaining effort is calculated using the PV (planned value) hours which are attached to each task. Then, I would attribute the increase to a previously finished task being reopenend. When this task has, say, an amount of 10 hours attached as PV (planned value), it would be correct for the remaining effort to increase accordingly by 10 hours. But the chart shows that in fact one (net) task has been completed on day 5. So, unless two additional tasks each worth 0 hours have been finished on day 5, the chart appears contradictory.--85.158.137.196 (talk) 13:56, 4 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Taking the liberty of answering myself: "remaining effort" probably means neither "budget left" nor "planned value yet to earn", as I guessed earlier, but it means what is commonly known as "estimate to completion", or ETC for short. In contrast to the PV, the ETC must be continuously updated as the project moves on or it becomes apparent that more effort will be needed on certain tasks. Therefore, on day 5, someone must have updated the ETC of one or more tasks in accordance to finding out that something will need more work than planned earlier. This action is neither dependent on the budget nor on the planned value. (Of course, when an increase in ETC cannot be compensated by an increase in productivity, the budget may need to be extended, or features thinned/cut.)--85.158.137.196 (talk) 14:12, 4 November 2009 (UTC)