Ideal velocity

@Krishna Samaga

How do we determine ideal velocity of a team?

There is no such thing as "ideal" velocity! Empirically determine this number. Just as you would empirically determine on an average how much time it would take for you to reach from your home to your office given a certain time slot.

I know trust plays a big role here, but on a ideal practical scenario, it is expected to have a close check on these aspects. Can anyone pour some insights on this?

Yes, you are correct. The team should trust each other. Again, is there really an ideal scenario? Isn't every organization "trusting" that its employees will do their jobs? How would the CEO of a company know if every person is "really" doing their jobs and not taking advantage of certain circumstances?

Perhaps if the culture shifted to the extent that everyone is transparent to each other and respects each other, we'd all be in a better place, right?

Does that help?

How do we determine ideal velocity of a team? I mean how do we come to know as a scrum master that the team is giving their best and not taking bad advantage of the liberty of estimations which they have authority on? I know trust plays a big role here, but on a ideal practical scenario, it is expected to have a close check on these aspects. Can anyone pour some insights on this?

I'd suggest that if a team know they are going to be assessed in terms of their velocity, rather than the value they deliver, it becomes increasingly likely that they *will* be tempted to game their estimates.

And another example why the #noestimates movement is growing

I mean how do we come to know as a scrum master that the team is giving their best and not taking bad advantage of the liberty of estimations which they have authority on? I know trust plays a big role here, but on a ideal practical scenario, it is expected to have a close check on these aspects.

If there is a focus on value, could the 'check' be that funding for the team is finite, and it will be withheld if the team fail to deliver sufficient value over a sustained period of time, irrespective of whether or not people are giving their best?

Scrum requires that a Product Backlog item have an estimate, but does not prescribe that a team uses velocity. There are better ways to measure, such as cycle time.

Velocity isn't something a Scrum Master tracks or uses, it is for the Development Team to forecast how much Product Backlog to select in Sprint Planning. Additionally a Product Owner uses it to answer questions at the Sprint Review such as 'How much Product Backlog will be completed by a certain date?', or how how long will it take to complete a certain amount of Product Backlog.

Since velocity is the amount of Product Backlog turned into a "Done" Increment, on average, if your Development Team doesn't have a "Done" Increment at the end of the Sprint, the velocity is ZERO.

I know trust plays a big role here, but on a ideal practical scenario, it is expected to have a close check on these aspects.

I would argue that the ideal practical scenario is that the team is trusted to be doing what is right for the company and delivered value is the measurement that everyone is concerned about. 

I'm going to leave it with that and a +1 for all of the above responses.