Know when work will finish

Overview

Socratic predicts when active work will be completed using advanced Monte Carlo simulation and historical data analysis. You can ask for the status of any body of work (e.g. epic, release, etc), and this will include a detailed forecast driven by machine learning.

How it works

Socratic analyzes your team's historical delivery patterns to create probabilistic forecasts by:

• Using Monte Carlo simulation with thousands of scenarios
• Analyzing historical velocity and cycle time patterns
• Considering team capacity and current workload
• Factoring in variability and uncertainty in delivery

The forecasting engine runs as many as a thousand simulations based on your team's actual delivery patterns, not theoretical estimates. This provides realistic completion date ranges, helping you make informed planning decisions.

Forecasts are updated automatically as work moves and assignments change, ensuring predictions reflect the latest state of work and team.

Types of questions you can ask

You can ask when an existing body of work (e.g. epic) will be completed.

"When will the Forecast v3 epic be completed?"

After Socratic responds, you can optionally ask what it would take to hit a specific target date. For example:

"What would it take to complete the work by Sept 1st?"

Reading the results

Forecasts for active work show:

• A timeline graph that shows a completed issues line, rising to meet a scope line: that is, a burn-up. The dotted line (with shading) reflects the forecast completion trajectory.
• A summary showing an early- and late-case completion date, and the midpoint date.

Common use cases

• Release planning
• Stakeholder communication
• Resource planning
• Executive reporting