[dfcowell]

This is fundamentally missing the point about what story points are, and goes to show you’re unfortunately stuck in another of the many companies using them poorly.

Many (poor) product managers look at velocity dropping and blame the team, or try to pack sprints. In fact, this is the time to open dialogue with the team and get to the bottom of why.

Often, it’s because tech debt or poor architecture is making it difficult to implement even simple features. The team might be burning out. There might be an overwhelming number of bugs and support tickets that need to be addressed.

Story points aren’t a target to hit, or even a KPI. They’re a barometer for team and process health. Unfortunately most engineering and product managers either don’t get it, or are unable to appropriately communicate that fact upwards.