What does velocity indicate in Scrum?

Velocity in Scrum is a critical measure that reflects the amount of work a team has successfully completed during a Sprint. It is typically expressed in terms of story points or work units, offering a quantitative indication of how much value the team can deliver over a particular time frame. This metric is essential for forecasting and planning future Sprints, as it helps teams understand their capacity and adjust their commitments accordingly.

Tracking velocity allows teams to build a reliable rhythm and make informed decisions about how much work they can realistically take on in the future. By analyzing velocity trends over multiple Sprints, teams can recognize patterns, assess their performance, and continually improve their processes. This makes velocity a powerful tool for guiding the team's development efforts and ensuring that commitments are manageable and aligned with the team's capabilities.

The other options do not accurately capture the essence of velocity in Scrum. Cost-effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and the number of teams involved do not relate directly to the specific function of measuring completed work within a Sprint. By concentrating solely on the output of completed work, velocity becomes a focused and practical metric for Scrum teams to gauge their progress and efficiency.