Methods and systems for performing project schedule forecasting

1. A computer-implemented method of performing project schedule forecasting based on stored project data, the method comprising:

receiving a first user input selecting a first plurality of work items in a project, respective work items of the first plurality of work items having respective work estimates;

receiving a second user input specifying one or more first work item attributes including a first team or a first historical period of time, the one or more first work item attributes referencing historical work completion data associated with the first team or the first historical period of time, wherein

the first historical period of time specifies a complete iteration or a complete product release in an agile software development process during which the project and the plurality of work items are being developed;

determining, using a statistical metric, a first historical rate of work completion in accordance with the historical work completion data associated with the first team or the first historical period of time, wherein

the statistical metric includes at least one of:

a first group including an average velocity, a highest velocity, and a lowest velocity previously achieved by the first team, and

a second group including an average velocity, a highest velocity, and a lowest velocity previously achieved in the first historical period of time;

calculating an estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the first historical rate of work completion; and

providing the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing a previously scheduled time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display, for comparison to the estimated time of completion.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the respective work estimates comprise estimates of remaining work for respective work items of the first plurality of work items.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first plurality of work items corresponds to a first goal in the project; and

the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items provides an estimated time of completion of the first goal.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first plurality of work items corresponds to a product release; and

the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items provides an estimated date for the product release.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input specifying a second team, the second team being distinct from the first team;

determining a second historical rate of work completion in accordance with historical work completion data for the second team;

recalculating the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the second historical rate of work completion; and

providing the recalculated estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input specifying a second historical period of time distinct from the first historical period of time;

determining a second historical rate of work completion in accordance with historical work completion data during the second historical period of time;

recalculating the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the second historical rate of work completion; and

providing the recalculated estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the second user input specifies a first statistical metric; and

the first historical rate of work completion is calculated based on historical work completion data in accordance with the first statistical metric.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the first statistical metric is selected from the group consisting of an average rate of work completion, an above-average rate of work completion, and a below-average rate of work completion.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input specifying a second statistical metric distinct from the first statistical metric;

determining a second historical rate of work completion based on historical work completion data in accordance with the second statistical metric;

recalculating the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the second historical rate of work completion; and

providing the recalculated estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first user input specifies a status of respective work items of the first plurality of work items.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first user input specifies a team to which respective work items of the first plurality of work items are assigned.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first user input specifies a priority of respective work items of the first plurality of work items.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first user input specifies a feature group with which respective work items of the first plurality of work items are associated, the feature group being associated with an agile software development process.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input specifying one or more second work item attributes referencing historical work completion data, the one or more second work item attributes being distinct from the one or more first work item attributes;

determining a second historical rate of work completion in accordance with the historical work completion data referenced by the one or more second work item attributes;

recalculating the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the second historical rate of work completion; and

providing the recalculated estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input selecting a second plurality of work items in the project, respective work items of the second plurality of work items having respective work estimates, the second plurality of work items being distinct from the first plurality of work items;

calculating an estimated time of completion of the second plurality of work items in accordance with the first historical rate of work completion; and

providing the estimated time of completion of the second plurality of work items for display.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input specifying a work estimate;

calculating an estimated time of completion of the work estimate specified by the third user input in accordance with the first historical rate of work completion; and

providing the estimated time of completion of the work estimate specified by the third user input for display.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user input specifying a rate of work completion;

recalculating the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the rate of work completion specified by the third user input; and

providing the recalculated estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

calculating, for successive future periods of time prior to the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items, successive estimated degrees of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the first historical rate of work completion; and

providing the successive estimated degrees of completion for display in a graph.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , wherein the successive future periods of time correspond to successive future iterations in an agile software development process.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , wherein the successive estimated degrees of completion are provided for display in a bar graph, the bar graph having respective bars corresponding to respective estimated degrees of completion for respective future periods of time of the successive future periods of time.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , further comprising:

providing for display in the graph one or more historical degrees of completion of the first plurality of work items corresponding to one or more respective historical periods of time.

23. A system for performing project schedule forecasting based on stored project data, the system comprising:

memory;

a display;

one or more processors; and

one or more programs stored in the memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including:

instructions to receive a first user input selecting a first plurality of work items in a project, respective work items of the first plurality of work items having respective work estimates;

instructions to receive a second user input specifying one or more first work item attributes including a first team or a first historical period of time, the one or more first work item attributes referencing historical work completion data associated with the first team or the first historical period of time, wherein

the first historical period of time specifies a complete iteration or a complete product release in an agile software development process during which the project and the plurality of work items are being developed;

instructions to determine, using a statistical metric, a first historical rate of work completion in accordance with the historical work completion data associated with the first team or the first historical period of time, wherein the

statistical metric includes at least one of:

a first group including an average velocity, a highest velocity, and a lowest velocity associated with the first team, and

a second group including an average velocity, a highest velocity, and a lowest velocity associated with the first historical period of time;

instructions to calculate an estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the first historical rate of work completion; and

instructions to provide the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.

24. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by a computer system to perform project schedule forecasting based on stored project data, the one or more programs comprising:

instructions to receive a first user input selecting a first plurality of work items in a project, respective work items of the first plurality of work items having respective work estimates;

instructions to receive a second user input specifying one or more first work item attributes including a first team or a first historical period of time, the one or more first work item attributes referencing historical work completion data associated with the first team or the first historical period of time, wherein

the first historical period of time specifies a complete iteration or a complete product release in an agile software development process during which the project and the plurality of work items are being developed;

instructions to determine, using a statistical metric, a first historical rate of work completion in accordance with the historical work completion data associated with the first team or the first historical period of time, wherein the

statistical metric includes at least one of:

a first group including an average velocity, a highest velocity, and a lowest velocity associated with the first team, and

a second group including an average velocity, a highest velocity, and a lowest velocity associated with the first historical period of time;

instructions to calculate an estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items in accordance with the first historical rate of work completion; and

instructions to provide the estimated time of completion of the first plurality of work items for display.