KPI · Projects and time

Throughput: formula and example.

Throughput is the number of work items a team completes in a fixed period, usually a week or a sprint. You only count items that are actually done, without estimating their size. Together with cycle time, throughput is the basis for forecasting when work will be finished.

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Throughput formula

Number of completed work items per period

Worked example

Acme Groothandel's IT team completed 9, 12, 10 and 13 items over the last four weeks. The average throughput is (9 + 12 + 10 + 13) ÷ 4 = 11 items per week.

Fictitious figures for Acme Groothandel, a sample wholesaler.

How to read this KPI

A steady or rising throughput means the team delivers work evenly. Because items vary in size, a single week says little; look at the rolling average. Throughput also lets you look ahead: at an average of 11 items per week, a backlog of 44 items takes about four weeks.

Pitfalls with throughput

Lumping large and small items together and drawing conclusions from week-to-week swings.
Splitting items to boost throughput, so the figure stops meaning anything.
Counting cancelled or duplicate items as completed.

SQL & DAX

Calculating throughput in SQL and DAX

Two examples on a fictitious data warehouse for Acme Groothandel: a PostgreSQL query and a measure for a Power BI model. Adjust table and column names to your own model.

SQL · PostgreSQL

SELECT date_trunc('week', completed_at)::date AS week,
       COUNT(*) AS completed_items,
       ROUND(AVG(COUNT(*)) OVER (ORDER BY date_trunc('week', completed_at)
                                 ROWS BETWEEN 3 PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW), 1) AS rolling_avg_4_weeks
FROM tasks
WHERE completed_at >= CURRENT_DATE - interval '26 weeks'
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1;

DAX · Power BI

Completed Items = CALCULATE ( COUNTROWS ( Tasks ), USERELATIONSHIP ( Tasks[CompletedDate], 'Date'[Date] ) )
Throughput per Week = DIVIDE ( [Completed Items], DISTINCTCOUNT ( 'Date'[WeekStart] ) )

In ENABLE

Tracking this KPI in ENABLE

Plain-language questions

Ask for throughput per month, customer or product in the SQL Explorer with AI. The AI writes the SQL, you see the query and run it yourself; the AI only receives metadata.

In your Power BI dashboard

Define the KPI as a measure in your Power BI model and show it in the portal, with "Last refreshed" next to it. Access profiles and optional row-level security decide who sees which figures.

Custom dashboards (pilot)

Add the KPI as a tile to a custom dashboard, compared with last year. The Dashboard Builder is a pilot and can be switched on per client.

Monthly targets

With the built-in Targets app you set a target for the KPI per month, so you see actuals and target side by side.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is throughput in agile?

Throughput is the number of work items a team completes per period, for example per week or per sprint. It is a count, not an estimate. That makes it easy to measure and useful for forecasting.

What is the difference between throughput and velocity?

Velocity counts story points, so estimated size, whereas throughput counts completed items. Throughput needs no estimates and works well when items are roughly the same size. Velocity only works within one team using a stable points scale.

How do you use throughput for planning?

Divide the number of remaining items by the average throughput to estimate the number of weeks needed. Use a range based on good and bad weeks rather than a single number. That leads to realistic commitments.

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