What it is
Momentum is a live indicator of a sprint's current work pace, shown as a state name and icon on the sprint's summary band. It compares the work remaining in the sprint against the team's effective capacity, and updates as work is completed.
How to read it
Momentum has five states, from lightest to heaviest load:
- Idle — no significant work remaining
- Cruise — remaining work is comfortably under capacity
- Stride — remaining work is close to capacity; a healthy, on-track pace
- Press — remaining work is pushing past capacity; risk is building
- Overdrive — remaining work substantially exceeds capacity; intervention is needed
The state is driven by workload remaining versus effective capacity — it doesn't account for how much time is left in the sprint, so a sprint can show Press or Overdrive early on if too much was committed.
What to do about it
Treat Cruise and Stride as normal operating states. When a sprint shows Press, check whether scope was added mid-sprint or the original commitment was too high relative to Capacity and Availability. Overdrive calls for an explicit conversation about cutting scope, moving tasks to the next iteration, or adjusting assignments — waiting it out rarely resolves an Overdrive sprint on its own.