Burnup Chart in Agile: Example & vs. Burndown [2026]
A. Togay Koralturk, Best-Selling PMP Author
Last updated on August 03, 2026
10 min read
A burndown chart tells you how much work is left, but not whether the finish line just moved — and on a project where stakeholders keep adding requirements, that missing piece matters. A burnup chart fixes it by drawing the finish line as its own line, so progress and scope are two separate stories you can read at once. This guide explains the burnup chart in full — what it is, an example, how to read it, how it compares to a burndown chart, when to use it, and how it is tested on the PMP and CAPM exams.
What is a burnup chart?
A burnup chart is a graph that tracks two things over time: the amount of work completed and the total scope of the project or sprint. The completed-work line rises from zero as the team finishes items; the total-scope line sits above it as the target. When the completed line climbs up to meet the scope line, the work is done.
Its defining feature is that second line. By plotting total scope separately, a burnup chart keeps progress and scope as two distinct measures — you can see how much has been done and, independently, whether the goalposts have moved. That is exactly the information a single-line burndown chart cannot give you, and it is why teams reach for a burnup when scope is likely to change, such as tracking a whole release rather than a stable sprint.
Anatomy of a burnup chart
A burnup chart has two axes and two lines. The vertical axis is the amount of work — usually story points — and the horizontal axis is time, in sprints or days. The completed-work line starts at zero and rises as items are finished; the total-scope line marks the goal and steps up whenever work is added. Here is an example over six sprints, with scope increasing partway through:
Read together, the two lines tell the whole story. At sprint three the scope line jumps from 40 to 50 points — work was added — and you can see it plainly, rather than having it hidden inside a slowing burndown. The completed line keeps climbing and finally meets the (now higher) scope line at sprint six, which is the moment the work is done.
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How to read a burnup chart
Reading a burnup chart comes down to three things: the gap, the scope line, and where the lines meet. Each answers a different question:
- The vertical gap between the lines is the work remaining — the distance the completed line still has to climb to reach the scope line.
- A step up in the scope line means work was added to the project. Because it is a separate line, this scope change is obvious, not disguised as slow progress.
- The completed line meeting the scope line means the work is finished — everything in scope has been delivered.
The slope of the completed line also shows the team's pace: a steady, rising slope is healthy progress, while a flattening slope signals the team has stalled. The one pattern a burnup makes uniquely clear is the moving target — if the scope line keeps stepping up, the finish keeps receding, which is a conversation to have with stakeholders about scope, not a failure of the team's pace.
Burnup vs. burndown chart
The burnup and burndown chart track the same progress from opposite directions, and the difference that matters is how they handle scope. A burndown chart has a single line of work remaining that falls toward zero; a burnup chart has two lines — work completed rising and total scope as a separate target. Here is the comparison:
| Burnup chart | Burndown chart | |
|---|---|---|
| Lines | Two — completed work and total scope | One — work remaining |
| Direction | Completed line rises toward the goal | Line falls toward zero |
| Shows scope changes? | Yes — the scope line steps up | No — hidden as slower progress |
| Complexity | Slightly more (two lines) | Simpler (one line) |
| Best for | When scope may change | A stable, fixed-scope sprint |
The takeaway: a burndown is simpler and perfectly good for a sprint with fixed scope, but a burnup is the better choice whenever scope might move, because it keeps the scope change visible. Many teams use a burndown for the day-to-day sprint and a burnup for the longer release, where scope is far more likely to shift.
Benefits and when to use a burnup chart
The burnup chart's benefits all flow from its two-line design:
- Scope transparency: it shows scope changes as they happen, so stakeholders see when the target moves and cannot mistake added work for a struggling team.
- Honest progress: separating completed work from scope means the progress line reflects real delivery, uncorrupted by scope shifts.
- Great for releases: over a multi-sprint release, where requirements evolve, the burnup keeps both the growing scope and the rising progress in one clear picture.
Use a burnup chart whenever scope is likely to change or when you need to communicate progress to stakeholders who care about the whole goal, not just the current sprint. For a short, fixed-scope sprint, a burndown is simpler and enough; the moment scope becomes a live issue, the burnup earns its extra line.
How to create a burnup chart
Agile tools generate burnup charts automatically, but the build is simple enough to understand:
- Choose the unit and time axis. Decide whether to measure in story points or items, and mark each sprint (or day) along the horizontal axis.
- Plot the total scope line. Draw the total committed work as a line; whenever scope is added or removed, step the line up or down at that point in time.
- Plot the completed-work line. At the end of each period, add the work completed so far and plot the cumulative total, rising from zero.
- Track the gap and the meeting point. Watch the space between the lines shrink as work is done; the project finishes when the completed line reaches the scope line.
The one discipline that keeps a burnup honest is counting only work that fully meets the definition of done on the completed line — and recording every scope change on the scope line, so the picture stays truthful.
Burnup charts on the PMP® and CAPM® Exams
Because agile and hybrid approaches are a large part of the PMP exam, the burnup chart appears as an agile tracking tool alongside the burndown. The facts to lock in: it plots completed work and total scope as two separate lines; the gap between them is the remaining work; and its key advantage over a burndown is that scope changes are visible as a step in the scope line rather than hidden.
The situational questions usually turn on that difference — a project with shifting scope needs a chart that keeps the scope change visible to stakeholders, which is the burnup, not the burndown. The CAPM tests the same distinction a little more directly, often asking which chart shows scope changes or how to read the two lines. Our PMP Complete Study Guide, the most complete on the market, covers the agile tracking tools and when each one fits.
PMP Practice Question: Burnup Chart
A stakeholder accuses a team of slowing down: the burndown chart's remaining-work line has barely moved for three sprints, even though the team insists it completed 20 to 25 points in each of them. During those same sprints, stakeholders added roughly as much new work to the release as the team finished. The sponsor asks the project manager to explain the flat line and make sure the confusion does not happen again.
What should the project manager do?
a) Keep the burndown but annotate it with a note at each scope addition, so reviewers can see why the line stayed flat.
b) Switch release reporting to a burnup chart, where completed work and total scope are plotted as separate lines.
c) Rebaseline the burndown at the start of each sprint so it tracks only that sprint's committed work against zero.
d) Keep the burndown and report the team's velocity alongside it each sprint, so the completion rate is visible next to the remaining work.
Correct answer: B.
Rationale: The flat line is two opposite movements canceling out: completed work pulling the remaining total down while added scope pushes it back up. A burnup chart separates those movements into their own lines — completed work rising 20 to 25 points every sprint, and the scope line stepping up with each addition — so the same data now proves the team's pace and shows exactly who moved the goalposts, which answers the accusation and prevents its recurrence in one artifact. The alternatives all leave the two signals tangled: annotations explain a confusing line without untangling it, a velocity table bolts a second report onto a chart that still conflates the movements, and per-sprint rebaselining makes each sprint look tidy by hiding the release-level scope growth that stakeholders most need to see. To drill this kind of reporting judgment, work through our PMP practice exams or, at the entry level, our CAPM practice exams.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a burnup chart?
A burnup chart is a graph that tracks two lines over time: the work completed, which rises toward the goal, and the total scope, which is the target line. The gap between the two lines is the work remaining, and the project or sprint is finished when the completed line climbs up to meet the scope line.
What is the difference between a burnup and a burndown chart?
A burndown chart has a single line of work remaining that falls toward zero, and it hides scope changes. A burnup chart has two lines — completed work rising and total scope as a separate target — so scope changes are visible as a step in the scope line. Burndown is simpler; burnup is clearer when scope may change.
How do you read a burnup chart?
Look at three things: the vertical gap between the lines, which is the work remaining; a step up in the scope line, which means work was added; and the point where the completed line meets the scope line, which means the work is done. The slope of the completed line also shows the team's pace.
What are the two lines on a burnup chart?
The two lines are the completed-work line and the total-scope line. The completed-work line rises from zero as items are finished. The total-scope line marks the goal and steps up (or down) whenever scope is added or removed. The distance between them at any point is the remaining work.
When should you use a burnup chart instead of a burndown chart?
Use a burnup chart when scope is likely to change or when you need to show stakeholders both progress and scope growth — for example, tracking a multi-sprint release where requirements evolve. A burndown chart is simpler and enough for a short, fixed-scope sprint where scope will not move.
Is the burnup chart on the PMP exam?
Yes. Agile and hybrid approaches are a large part of the PMP exam, and the burnup chart is a common agile tracking tool it tests. You should know that it shows completed work and total scope as two lines, that the gap is the remaining work, and that its advantage over a burndown is keeping scope changes visible.
Is the burnup chart on the CAPM exam?
Yes. The CAPM covers agile tracking tools including the burnup chart, usually a little more directly than the PMP — often asking which chart makes scope changes visible or how to read the two lines. Because the CAPM is scenario-based, you should still be ready to interpret the chart in a short situation.
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