A vertical axis displays the amount of work still to be done, while a horizontal axis displays the amount of time from the project’s start, representing the past and the future. The burndown chart is visible to all members of the agile project management team and is consistently updated to ensure accuracy. Microsoft creates and distributes MS Excel, a commercial spreadsheet programme, for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS operating systems. Among other helpful capabilities, it has the capacity to carry out simple calculations and utilize graphing tools, build pivot tables, and develop macros. Data organization and manipulation are done using rows and columns of cells in spreadsheet programmes like MS Excel. They can also use line graphs, charts, and histograms to display data. We mentioned below are the steps to create burndown chart in Microsoft Excel.
Steps to create burndown chart in Microsoft Excel
Step 1: Under the base data, select a blank cell, select cell A10, type “Deal remaining work hours” into it, and in cell A11, type “Actual remaining work hours” into it. Step 2: Beside the A10 (the cell type “Deal remaining work hours”), type this formula =SUM(C2:C9) into the cell C10, then press Enter key to get the total working hours. Step 3: In cell D10 beside the total working hours, type this formula =C10-($C$10/5), then drag the autofill handle to fill the range you need. Step 4: Now go to cell C11 (which is beside the cell type “Actual remaining work hours”), and type the total working hours into it. Step 5: Type this formula =SUM(D2:D9) into D11, and then drag fill handle to the range you need. Step 6: Click Insert > Line > Line. Step 7: Right click at the blank line chart, and click Select Data in the context menu. Step 8: In the Select Data Source dialog, click Add button to open Edit Series dialog, and select “Deal remaining work hours” as the first series. Step 9: Click OK to go back Select Data Source dialog, and click Add button again, then add “Actual remaining work hours” as the second series in Edit Series dialog. Step 10: Click OK, go back to Select Data Source dialog again, click Edit button in the Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels section, then select Range C1:H1 (Total and Dates labels )to the Axis label range box in the Axis Labels dialog. Step 11: Click OK > OK. Now you can see the burn down chart has been created. Step 12: You can click the chart then go to Layout tab and click Legend > Show Legend at Bottom to show the burn down chart more professional.
Final Words
We hope you like our article on how to create burndown chart in Microsoft Excel. Burndown charts are used by team managers to view the project’s overall progress and the amount of work still to be done. Burndown charts can be used by developers to track their progress or to demonstrate their team how much work is still to be done during an Agile sprint. Developers typically track particular activities, whereas managers typically track high-level needs. This is due to the fact that although managers will need a higher-level summary, developers will want the particular tickets or tasks linked to fulfilling those requirements.
