Why Velocity Is a Trap and What to Use Instead?

Velocity vs Flow Based Metrics

Whenever I stepped into a team’s space as an Agile Coach or Scrum Master, one question almost always came up. Someone asks, "How can we increase our velocity?" At first, it sounds reasonable. After all, who wouldn’t want their team to work faster and deliver more?

But over the years, I’ve realised that this focus on velocity is often misleading. Teams start chasing numbers, and while their graphs go up, their real problems remain unsolved. They feel more pressure, burn out faster, and sometimes even deliver work that doesn’t matter much.

Let me take you through one such experience and explain why velocity can trap teams, and what they should really focus on instead.

The Story of a Velocity-Obsessed Team

Not long ago, I was coaching a product team working across time zones. Their sprint board was full of tasks, and during every review meeting, velocity charts were the first thing discussed.

The Scrum Master proudly announced, "This sprint, we’ve increased our velocity by 20%!"

There were smiles around the room, but when I asked, "Did this improvement lead to better results for your customers?" everyone grew quiet.

A developer hesitated and said, "We completed more stories this sprint, but some were small tasks and had to be redone later." A couple of dependent and blocked stories were closed and new stories were added in their place for next sprint so that report looks good.

The Product Owner added, "We kept adding new tasks to ensure we hit the velocity target."

That’s when it hit me, velocity was driving their actions, not customer outcomes or team health.

Why Velocity Becomes a Trap

This is not a story of one team. I’ve seen teams from across the world, startups in Europe, tech teams in the US, and growing businesses in Asia; face the same issue. Velocity is easy to measure, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Here’s how it traps teams:

1. Quantity Over Quality

Teams start completing more tasks just to meet targets. They pick easier items over challenging but meaningful ones. In the long run, the work suffers.

2. Losing Sight of Real Outcomes

More work doesn’t always mean better results. A team might deliver faster but still miss customer expectations, making velocity meaningless.

3. Overloading the Team

Chasing higher numbers leads teams to commit more work than they can realistically handle, resulting in stress, fatigue, and increased errors.

4. Ignoring Root Problems

A good-looking velocity chart might hide deeper issues like inefficient processes or poor communication. Teams stop diagnosing problems when they look busy.

5. Creating Unhealthy Comparisons

Teams compare their velocity to others, leading to competition rather than collaboration. This distracts from shared goals and learning.

A Conversation That Opened Their Eyes

In a follow-up session, I asked, "If you keep increasing velocity but your users don’t benefit, what’s the point?"

I helped them understand that there is a customer waiting for a solutions for their problems, That solutions is nothing but the features you are developing, so our end goal is to fulfil customer's need rather increasing velocity. It was a turning point.

I continued, "Let’s not chase numbers for their own sake. Let’s focus on real impact, fewer bugs, faster feedback, and happier customers."

For the first time, they saw velocity as a tool, not a goal. This mindset shift changed everything.

What to Use Instead: Flow, Feedback, and Value

Instead of obsessing over velocity, I guided the team to focus on three areas that actually make a difference:

Flow – Making Work Move Smoothly

It’s not about how much you do but how efficiently work progresses. Are tasks waiting unnecessarily? Are dependencies causing delays? Are team members juggling too many tasks?

Improving flow helps teams work without stress and deliver consistently.

Helpful practices:

• Visual boards to spot blocked tasks

• Limiting work in progress to reduce multitasking

• Tracking lead time and cycle time to see how work moves

Feedback – Learning Fast, Adjusting Early

Velocity focuses on completion; feedback focuses on improvement. Good feedback loops allow teams to learn from mistakes and course-correct before problems grow.

Helpful practices:

• Regular retrospectives that encourage open discussion

• Early customer testing before large releases

• Feedback channels between teams and stakeholders

Value – Working on What Matters

The real question isn’t how fast you work but whether your work creates impact. Teams should ask, “Will this feature, task, or product make a difference?” rather than “How quickly can we complete it?”

Helpful practices:

• Planning based on customer needs and business goals

• Measuring customer satisfaction and adoption rates

• Prioritising tasks that create long-term benefits

How the Team Transformed

After implementing these changes, the team’s velocity didn’t skyrocket. But something more important happened. They started delivering better quality work, reducing rework, and engaging with customers more deeply.

They used flow metrics to understand delays, set limits on work-in-progress, and created structured feedback loops. They stopped comparing numbers and began asking better questions.

Six months later, customer satisfaction had improved, and team morale was noticeably better. They were not just working harder, they were working smarter.

Final Thoughts – Don’t Let Numbers Distract You

Velocity is a tempting measure because it’s easy to see and track. But if used blindly, it distracts teams from what really matters is purpose, quality, and learning.

I always encourage teams to look deeper. Ask yourself:

• Are we working fast or working meaningfully?

• Are we prioritising customer needs or just clearing tasks?

• Are we learning from feedback or ignoring it to chase targets?

  
  

True progress comes from improving flow, embracing feedback, and delivering real value, not from increasing numbers that don’t tell the full story.

If you want to explore how your team can move beyond velocity and build workflows that support sustainable growth, feel free to reach out to me at Agility Wave.

Let’s work together to build teams that deliver meaningful results with clarity, confidence, and balance.

About me

Prateek Nigam AKT, KCP

I am Prateek Nigam, a Business Agility Coach and Accredited Kanban Trainer, have supported teams at companies like Yamaha, Fiserv, BCG, and Lowe’s in improving delivery, reducing bottlenecks, and building flow-driven systems that create measurable outcomes.

Through Agility Wave, I offer coaching and training in Kanban, Scrum, Agile, and leadership development, helping teams implement structured workflows, track their flow, and achieve sustainable productivity.

For more insights, visit https://www.agilitywave.com

For queries, call: +91 – 9667540444 Or email: support@agilitywave.com