In software project management, the Agile approach, known as an iterative, incremental, and highly flexible method, has grown steadily in popularity over the past decade.
These days, we often associate Agile software development with sprints, standups, and burndown charts, but those aren’t the only things you can use to assess your team’s success or failure. In this regard, you should be aware and know how to use the most effective Agile metrics to choose the most accurate methodology.
With metrics in Agile, you can evaluate the success of your software development process and the level of cooperation between the developers.
That’s why from our list of 15 Agile metrics, each one will be useful to both in-house and Agile-dedicated teams in measuring software quality, productivity, and performance.
Our aim is to provide you with a complex understanding of what Scrum, Kanban, and Lean metrics in Agile are, why they are important, and which type you can choose for your particular software development project.
What Are Agile Metrics?
Metrics in Agile are the measurements related to Agile software development and typically include data from various points along a software project cycle. They can be used to monitor performance and inform your decisions about processes and products as your team moves forward in building software.
Since a metric is a way to measure progress toward a goal, Agile metrics are among the key performance indicators to measure progress and health in an Agile software development environment.
Precisely, Scrum, Kanban, and Lean metrics help software teams monitor productivity across workflow stages, access software quality, introduce more clarity to the development process, and help a Scrum/Kanban master keep track of their teams’ well-being.
Why Are They Important?
The main contributions of Agile metrics to the Agile software project cycle refer to the quality of decision-making, predictability of the workflow, and the presence of Agile KPIs to measure performance.
You Can Make Informed Decisions
Agile metrics are an important component of successful Agile development because they help project managers, Scrum masters, product owners, and everyone involved in a project use data to make informed decisions about where to go next.
These data-based decision-making practices make Agile so different from other software development methodologies such as Waterfall, which relies on meetings and documentation rather than data to make progress.
You Get a Project Plan
Based on the chosen Agile metrics, you can develop a project plan that sets specific goals for each sprint, so that you can accurately track how well your team is doing.
Once deviations appear, you will detect them on time and make necessary changes for moving forward as planned. This will keep your team on task, which will lead to better results as a whole.
You Work with Measurable Agile KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are essential for measuring a project’s status, determining if adjustments need to be made, and answering questions about cost, delivery time, and success. In Agile workflows, such KPIs help to set benchmarks and determine how well a team is functioning over time.
What Are the Main Types of Agile Metrics?
Scrum metrics. The most commonly used metrics in software development that focus on improving team collaboration through learning from experience, self-organization, and continuously improving together.
Kanban metrics. An Agile software development framework that is similar to the Scrum methodology but presents the essential information for teamwork enhancement on a Kanban board.
Lean metrics. The set of Lean metrics helps to detect and remove project activities that bring no value in terms of overall performance and result effectiveness.
15 Most Popular Agile Metrics
Depending on the expected result and the particular area of application, you can choose among these 15 Agile metrics to get the necessary boost in your project performance.
1. Sprint Burndown
Type: Scrum metrics
Application: Tracking progress time on completing tasks within a sprint
Sprint Burndown is an Agile measurement of two main parameters of project performance: time in story points and the work left. A chart with X- and Y-axes visualizes the project progress as a line drawn from upper left to bottom right, so you can immediately see whether the actual project progress follows the planned one. This way, you can provide the necessary changes in each sprint in real-time.
Accurate planning is a key to success while working with Sprint Burndown. Before starting a sprint, a team forecasts how many story points they can complete in its course.
Then, an assigned Scrum/Kanban master will track the completion of those story points and ensure a team will finish the planned scope of work within the set time frame.
2. Epic and Release Burndown
Type: Agile metrics
Application: Tracking the bigger picture of the work progress
By relying on epics as larger units during the project progress, these Agile metrics allow teams to track bigger bodies of work than Sprint Burndown can cover.
One of the major benefits of Epic Burndown and Release Burndown is that they help manage the scope creep — the addition of new requirements after the project scope was already defined. This way, you ensure your team will not lose in productivity after, for example, the product owner on the client’s side tasks your team to add a new massive feature.
3. Throughput
Type: Kanban and Scrum metrics
Application: Measuring the number of tasks delivered per sprint
This metric helps to determine the number of tasks delivered during the sprint, which helps in planning iterations and predicting team performance during the project. At the same time, its measurement is limited by an inability to see the starting point.
4. Agile Velocity
Type: Agile metrics
Application: Forecasting project performance based on the average amount of work covered during a sprint
For product owners, Velocity is one of the most essential metrics in Agile software development to quickly evaluate future project progress. It becomes possible by seeing the average quantity of completed story points over several past sprints in the backlog.
You can use the metric to foresee how effective your team will be in the forthcoming sprints, especially if you have enough information from the past to rely on.
Other benefits of Velocity include the presence of measurable Agile KPIs and the ability to see a clear result and possible sprint inefficiencies right away. In general, following how your team’s Velocity changes over time helps to keep track of project productivity.
5. Cumulative Flow
Type: Lean metrics, Kanban metrics
Application: Seeing the distribution of issues during the whole project length
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Cumulative Flow gives you a bird’s-eye view of the status of your tasks in a sprint, release, and across software teams. With this metric, you will be able to view all statuses for all workflow stages and immediately identify bottlenecks — all in a single diagram.
This is possible with the accurate representation of all the issues on the Y-axis, with the X-axis dedicated to time. In this visualization, ideal project progress is smooth from left to right, and any narrowing and widening demonstrate problems with project planning and potential difficulties for the team.
This way, the Lean metrics provide actionable information on your development processes, helping your team to avoid issues both big and small.
6. Code Coverage
Type: Agile metrics
Application: Measuring the percentage of code ready for testing
Code Coverage will help you calculate how much of your product’s code is covered by unit tests, presenting it in a raw visualization.
It can be measured by the number of methods, conditions, statements, and branches that comprise your unit testing suite. You can also run Code Coverage automatically as part of every build.
While Code Coverage is one of the most effective Agile metrics, it does not measure the input of other types of testing. So, if your numbers are high, it doesn’t necessarily mean your product has solid code. Still, the metrics will give you a good perspective on the quality of your product.
7. Escaped Defects
Type: Lean metrics
Application: Identify bugs in a release
Escaped Defects will help you identify the number of bugs in a build or release after it enters production. This metric allows your team to access the quality of your software, although in a rather raw form. This is one of the Agile quality metrics you should consider using, as bugs on production always pose problems. At the same time, it’s not an independent metric but is best used as a foundation for additional measurements.
8. Failed Deployments
Type: Lean metrics
Application: Get the number of overall deployments
This metric will help you access the number of deployments to testing and production environments. Failed Deployments can shed light on how reliable those environments are and whether a team is building working software at all. Concurrently, you can use these Lean metrics to understand whether a given sprint or release is ready to go to production.
This metric can be used as a supporting data point when you analyze your other metrics, such as Velocity and Lead Time to see if anything has been slipping or being rushed through to production.
9. Release Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Type: Agile metrics
Application: Measuring the number of users ready to recommend a product or service
In essence, Net Promoter Score (NPS) is not only an Agile software quality metric but also a customer satisfaction metric. Being measured right before the release, the metric demonstrates the reaction of users to a given release. The metric can help teams predict whether users will recommend the software product.
NPS gets distribution by ranging the answers to the question similar to, “How likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or colleague?”. The responses will fall into three groups: Promoters (those who answer 9 or 10), Passives (those who answer 7 or 8), and Detractors (those who answer 0-6). The ratio of promoters over detractors is equal to NPS.
10. Control Chart
Type: Agile project management metrics
Application:
Control charts, also known as run charts, are created to visually track a specific variable (or variable group) over time. The goal is to monitor these trends and find patterns, especially when it comes to detecting potential shifts in distributions.
In Agile software development, the application of a control chart is to track the transition of tasks from “in progress” to “done.” For this, the metric uses the Y-axis to detect the time elapsed on every single task and, in this way, ensure predictable delivery.
The main idea of tracking tasks with a control chart is that every new data point is compared with all previous data points. If everything fits in a normal distribution, then we expect to see most points around a central line.
11. Lead Time
Type: Lean metrics
Application: Evaluating project performance as the whole
Frequently compared with Cycle time, Lead Time helps the team to predict how long the work will take in their workflows in a similar manner. Nevertheless, this metric picks the total project time as the Agile KPI, without splitting it into smaller cycles. This way, you can get a broader picture you the project’s progress from idea to realization.
At the same time, in the case of delays and slow processing time, it’s better to supplement the Lead Time metric with Cycle Time to get more accurate insights.
12. Value Delivered
Type: Agile
Application: Evaluating the value of each requirement
This metric traces the actual value delivery within the project, by setting the development of the most valuable features at the top of the priority list.
Once visualized, a good graph will grow upward from left to the right, with a simultaneous decrease in the risk line. With its help, the product owner, focusing mainly on increasing ROI and cutting costs and risks, can take a pragmatic stance when faced with requests for additional resources.
13. Work Item Age
Type: Agile
Application: Visualizes how much time passed from the start to the completion of a project
The metric shows the aging work in progress, meaning how much time your team has already spent on each given task. This way, it’s easy to evaluate the current state of the project performance and evaluate its pace and success in comparison to the previous project at a similar stage.
Aging work-in-progress is shown on a timeline, which visually breaks down what your team has been working on and for how long. Each status is marked in color, where red is for overdue tasks that have exceeded their estimate, yellow is for tasks in progress, and green is for completed tasks.
14. Quality Intelligence
Type: Agile
Application: Shows the recent code changes
The metric ensures the maintenance of software quality by keeping track of all the updates in the code taking place. Also, its methodology can be applied to evaluating the skills and performance of each team member, although this analysis is not common yet. In this broad sense, Quality Intelligence helps to detect accurate metrics and KPIs when project circumstances change.
15. Static Code Analysis
Type: Agile
Application: Evaluate the source code in terms of security
Static Code Analysis works with the source code to detect potential vulnerabilities, bugs, and safety threats. With this metric, you can automate Agile software development, letting your QA specialists create test cases early in the process by using helpful algorithms and getting fast feedback.
Hire an Agile Team for Your Software Development Project
If you’re in search of an Agile team, refer to Intellectsoft! With decades of experience, we deliver various software development services and always adjust the delivery approach based on your business limitations and requirements.
Talk to our team now and let’s determine the exact Agile KPIs for you to measure our project success!
The hospitality industry depends a lot on keeping customers happy, but it’s getting harder to attract and keep them. The pandemic hit this industry hard, and now market competition is tougher than ever, with competitive offerings swaying customers. Hospitality businesses are willing to spend big to win customers back. The main questions for many are: how can we stay ahead of the competition, keep our customers, and increase revenue? Keep reading—we’ve got some answers.
Customers today have so many options that getting their attention is a real challenge. It’s not easy to make them choose your business over others. What worked 10 years ago doesn’t work the same way now. Back then, people often chose businesses based on reputation. But with new types of businesses (boutique hotels, craft cafes) popping up or big enterprises getting a new strategy, expectations have changed. The good news is these businesses have shown what works: great customer service. They focus on personalizing the experience, making things easy for customers, offering loyalty programs, and using smart technology.
In this article, we’ll explore these tech strategies and show you how they can help your business grow, and double the revenue. Keep reading to learn more!
The Importance of Customer Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry
Customer satisfaction, which equals exceptional customer experience, is the backbone of the hospitality industry. It plays a central role in driving revenue and loyalty, as satisfied customers are more likely to return and recommend a hotel, restaurant, or other hospitality business to others. In fact, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that a 1% increase in customer satisfaction can lead to a 0.5% increase in revenue. Moreover, loyal customers are more likely to forgive mistakes and continue doing business with a company, even if they experience a negative encounter.
Let's quickly review the challenges the hospitality industry is facing right now so we can move on to the solutions and our case studies.
Challenges in Hospitality
As businesses navigate the changes in the hospitality industry, there are some key areas where a little improvement can go a long way. From improving customer service to embracing digital transformation and tackling labor shortages, we’ll take a closer look at today’s biggest challenges—and, more importantly, how technology can step in to help. Let’s get started!
Poor Customer Service
Even with strong and high-quality business offerings, poor customer service can drive potential customers and existing customers away. Common issues include:
Long wait times in customer service queues (it is worth remembering that our attention spans 8 seconds, and we live in a very busy world, so quick and efficient responses are more important than ever.)
Poorly trained customer service representatives
Lack of follow-up
Services not being done properly or quickly
Recall issues that require multiple service calls
These problems can frustrate customers. But, at Intellectsoft, we believe that the right approach, combined with technology, can address them effectively.
Digital Transformation Gaps
Approximately 50% of hotels are adopting new technologies, with 43% automating repetitive tasks and 39% upgrading existing systems. Source: workstaff.app
While many businesses are adopting digital solutions, some still struggle with outdated systems and fragmented data. Legacy companies often face chaos when trying to manage their data and create new systems or add features.
Some of the recent examples include clients coming to us to create AI solutions for their services while their data simply was not ready for the advanced tasks. We advise stepping back, communicating with a company objective, and working on keeping the data clean (centralized, structured, and segmented).
When we’re asked to create advanced systems using AI, we always emphasize the importance of organized data. To train AI and build such complicated systems that truly work, you need to start from the very beginning—collecting, storing, centralizing, and organizing it. We encourage our clients to align all departments to work internally on the data so we can create a unified digital system that delivers personalized experiences.
If you’re unsure where to start with your data, we can help. Collecting feedback at various touchpoints along the customer journey is crucial for gaining insights into customer satisfaction and loyalty. Book an IT consultation with us, and our experts will guide you in mapping out a path to get more from your data and build a system that works for your business and team.
Reskilling Staff
The pandemic hit hard in early 2020, especially for the hospitality and travel industries. Even five years later, many businesses are still feeling the impact. Recruiting and retaining skilled staff has become a major challenge post-pandemic.
Reskilling to address technology’s impact is of utmost importance, as about 40% of hotel General Managers place it among their top three workforce challenges.
We strongly believe that adopting the right technology can help. For example, creating an app to train your staff not only saves time but also ensures consistency in learning. AI assistants can also work alongside your team, helping with tasks like recruitment (providing industry insights, crafting emails) and staff training. Imagine having an app dedicated to making your team’s work easier and more efficient!
How Technology Tackles These Challenges and Supports a Customer-Centric Hospitality Culture
Automation, AI, and similar technologies may threaten many. However, the debate about replacing humans isn’t about that—it’s about cooperation and working hand in hand with technology to achieve the highest standards and establish brand-new “golden standards.” Technology is here to assist staff in listening to and collecting customer insights from data.
Let’s review some of our cases to see examples of how technology helps improve customer experience and supports customer service.
Examples of Intellectsoft projects
Property management systems (PMS)
We created a web platform and mobile app that makes managing daily tasks easier and offers extra services to improve residents’ experience. It gives a clear overview of daily activities and helps with managing units and users. Residents can easily book amenities, submit service requests, and report incidents. The platform also includes features for equipment management, key instructions, workflows, and custom permissions. This makes it easier for staff to stay on top of equipment and ensure residents have all the information they need. Plus, tools like announcements, quick votes, a forum, and a community calendar help build a connected and engaged community.
Guest Experience Management App
Our next app helped our client improve their guest experience by replacing printed marketing materials and the need for phone calls with a smart solution. Now, guests can easily order in-room dining, make reservations, and interact with staff— through a simple tablet in their room. The solution includes three parts: a custom in-room tablet with a variety of services, an admin panel for hotel staff and service providers, and a backend system that connects everything together. This approach makes things easier for guests and staff, improving both convenience and efficiency.
Existing Customers First: Building Loyalty with Personalized Touchpoints
Keeping existing customers is not just a strategy; it’s well-known that retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. In fact, research shows that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. KPMG named customer retention as the number one revenue driver for the company.
Moreover, a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25% to 95% increase in profits, showing the significant impact loyal customers can have on a business’s bottom line. Retention strategies, like personalized experiences and loyalty programs, can foster long-term relationships and generate recurring revenue, ultimately making them an invaluable part of any business model.
Personalization: How Technology Can Help?
Everyone loves to feel special—it’s part of being human. In hospitality, personalization has evolved from being a luxury to an essential standard. With the right technology to manage your data effectively, you can deliver those “wow” moments that guests won’t forget.
More than half of hotel chains are already using personalization features on their websites, booking platforms, and apps, and another 39% are planning to follow suit soon. They’re tailoring experiences to fit guest preferences perfectly.
Source: Deloitte
How does technology make it happen?
CRM Systems: They help you keep track of guest preferences, booking history, and special requests so you can offer services tailored just for them.
Loyalty Programs: Personalized rewards and offers show your guests that you value them, keeping them coming back for more.
AI Personalization: AI analyzes guest data to predict what they’ll love (from room upgrades to local recommendations) before they even ask.
IoT Gadgets: Smart room features like voice-activated assistants, or temperature controls adjust to your guests’ preferences, making their stay more comfortable.
With tech-powered personalization, you’re building loyalty and maximizing the lifetime value of every customer.
Our Case Study: Smart Hotel Management & Loyalty Program
For one of our clients, we created a smart room solution, complete with a custom IoT system. Guests can use a mobile app to control services, explore amenities, and find resort information-- with a special touch to their suite type. For the client’s entertainment business, we improved their legacy software by running a full IT and code check, fixing issues, and making the system better for customers.
Along with that, we developed a mobile app for the loyalty program, allowing businesses to effortlessly reward their customers and keep them engaged with exclusive benefits.
Our solutions not only helped the client with special experiences for guests; it also improved operations, cutting costs by eliminating inefficiencies. Here's what our experts shared:
"We transitioned away from ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) systems, which previously cost millions, and replaced them with more efficient, self-managed solutions. Similarly, we’ve implemented Device Farms that improved operations and saved resources."
Leveraging Software to Increase Upsell Opportunities
Here are some examples of tech tactics that will help your team sell more and introduce new offerings to existing customers, improve overall efficiency leaving your team grateful:
Dynamic Pricing Algorithms
For finance and marketing teams, manually calculating pricing by segment to introduce your clients can be incredibly challenging. AI-powered tools can strongly optimize these strategies by analyzing your database in detail.
Upselling via Apps
Boosting revenue in the hospitality business often comes down to personalized experiences. Imagine this: a guest books a room, and then your app suggests a spa package or a room upgrade at just the right moment. Later, it nudges them to book a dinner reservation or a guided tour designed to their preferences. With apps offering these personalized recommendations during and after bookings, you’re not just increasing your revenue per guest but also skyrocketing their experience. And you do it in a sustainable way, not by speculating, but by offering what your customers desire based on their previous experiences. It’s a win-win: seamless, helpful, and far from pushy.
Inventory and Resource Management Software
Making every resource count in your hospitality business is key. Inventory and resource management software allows you to effortlessly track everything from linens to room availability, ensuring nothing goes to waste. Having real-time insights to reduce overstock, avoid shortages, and optimize operations assists sustainably keep everything under control and know what you need to focus more. It helps maximize room occupancy by aligning bookings with available resources, ensuring every room and item is used effectively. This approach leads to smarter management, better guest experiences, and a noticeable boost to your bottom line.
Adopting these strategies not only optimizes your operations but also drives business growth. Ready to discover how technology can elevate your goals? We’re here to create a tailored solution for you.
Steps For Implementing a Customer Service Technology Solution
Improving customer service in hospitality doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the right technology, you can smooth the path of your operations, speed up response times, and elevate the overall guest experience. Here’s where you can make it happen:
1. Understand Your Needs
Start by identifying the challenges your business is facing. Are you struggling to manage high volumes of inquiries, track customer feedback, or personalize the guest experience? Pinpointing your needs will guide you to the best solutions.
2. Pick the Right Tools
Choose technology that aligns with your goals. Look for solutions that are scalable, easy to use, and integrate effortlessly with your current systems. Options like CRM software, live chat tools, or a guest experience app can make a difference.
3. Equip Your Team
Technology is only as effective as the people using it. Train your staff to make the most of the new tools, so they can deliver exceptional service and resolve issues quickly. Confident, well-equipped staff creates happy, loyal customers.
4. Keep Improving
Once implemented, monitor how well the solution works. Are response times improving? Are customers more satisfied? Regular evaluations will help you fine-tune your approach and keep things running harmoniously.
Some Tech Ideas for Hospitality Businesses
CRM Software: Manage customer interactions and preferences.
Guest Experience Apps: Delight guests with personalized experiences right at their fingertips.
Amenity Management Systems: Simplify operations for everything from room service to facility bookings.
Live Chat Tools: Offer instant support and answers.
Social Media Management Tools: Keep customer interactions engaging and organized.
Integrating these strategies will not only improve your customer service but also deliver unforgettable customer satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, your bottom line. Ready to take the next step? Book a consultation with our experts.
Conclusion
To wrap up everything we've discussed, customer satisfaction and experience are at the heart of hospitality. Retaining customers is more than just keeping them around—building strong, long-lasting relationships and consistently meeting their evolving needs. By understanding their pain points and offering personalized solutions, you can inspire loyalty and drive progress. With the right technology and continuous improvement, your business can stay ahead, let go of what no longer serves you, and keep growing.
At Intellectsoft, with over 17 years of experience in software development, our expert team is ready to help. We create everything from mobile apps to full-fledged portals and systems, leveraging the latest technologies like AI, Cloud, and Machine Learning. With deep experience in the hospitality industry, we’re here to craft personalized solutions that bring your business unforgettable customer experience and retain your valuable clients.
Ready to double your revenue and level up your customer retention strategy with personalized technology? Contact our experts, and we look forward to working hand in hand with you to build or revitalize the perfect app or system for you.
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