Sprint Management — Time-Boxed Delivery

Sprints are time-boxed iterations — typically one or two weeks — that give your team a clear commitment window. Lifecycle builds sprint management into R&D and Bugs boards so planning, execution, and review all live in one place.

Sprints are optional. If your team runs a continuous flow model, you don't need to use sprints at all — items can be tracked and managed without sprint assignment. The Sprint field simply stays empty for those items.

Sprint names, goals, start dates, and end dates are all editable after creation. Click the three-dot menu on any sprint and choose Edit to update its details at any time.

What Is a Sprint?

A sprint is a fixed period during which your team commits to delivering a set of work items. Rather than working from an endless backlog, sprints create focus: the team agrees on a goal, pulls in the right tasks, and works toward a clear endpoint.

Sprints in Lifecycle are assigned to tasks (not stories or sub-tasks directly). Stories and sub-tasks roll up through their parent relationships.

Sprint Lifecycle

The sprint lifecycle (Planning → Active → Completed) is a fixed workflow — you cannot reorder or skip the states. But everything within it is fully configurable: which items are included, estimated hours, capacity settings, sprint dates, and the sprint goal can all be changed at any time.

Every sprint moves through three states:

Planning

The default state for a newly created sprint. Use planning mode to:

  • Build your sprint backlog — assign tasks to the sprint
  • Set or confirm estimated hours for each item
  • Check team capacity against planned work
  • Clarify the sprint goal with the team

There is no limit on how many sprints can be in Planning state simultaneously. Build out future sprints in advance so the team always has a prioritized, estimated queue ready to go.

Active

The sprint is in progress. Only one sprint can be active at a time. Activating a sprint signals to the entire team that this is the current commitment window.

When you activate a sprint:

  • The sprint appears in the "Active Sprint" default view
  • Capacity calculations lock to the sprint date range
  • Real-time timers and time logs begin accumulating against this sprint

Completed

Mark a sprint complete when the iteration ends. Completed sprints move to the archive section in the sidebar. Their data — completion rates, time logs, status history — remains fully accessible via sprint reports.

Tip: Complete sprints even when not everything got done. Completion is about closing the time box, not finishing every item. Unfinished work moves to the next sprint during backlog grooming.

Creating Sprints

Navigate to the Sprints page from the left sidebar, then click Create Sprint.

Fill in:

Field Required Notes
Name Yes E.g., "Sprint 24", "Q2 Week 1"
Goal No One-sentence description of the sprint's purpose
Start Date Yes First day of the sprint
End Date Yes Last day (inclusive)

Sprint dates should use full weekly ranges — starting Monday, ending Friday — for accurate capacity calculations.

Tip: Give sprints meaningful names, not just numbers. "Launch prep — payments sprint" tells the team more than "Sprint 14" when reviewing historical reports six months later.

Managing Sprints

Reordering

Drag and drop sprints on the Sprints page to reorder them. Reordering affects the display sequence in the sidebar and the sprint list — it does not change dates or activation.

Editing

Click the three-dot menu on any sprint to edit its name, goal, or dates. You can edit sprints in any state, including active ones (useful if a sprint gets extended or shortened mid-iteration).

Activating a Sprint

From Planning → Active: click Activate Sprint on the sprint card or detail page. Only one sprint can be active at a time. If another sprint is already active, you'll be prompted to complete it first.

Before activating, confirm:

  • Backlog is finalized
  • Items have estimated hours
  • Team capacity is checked

Completing a Sprint

From Active → Completed: click Complete Sprint. You'll see a summary of:

  • Items completed
  • Items still in progress
  • Option to move unfinished items to the next sprint or back to the backlog

Deleting Sprints

Delete is available from the three-dot menu. A confirmation dialog will appear. Deleting a sprint removes it permanently — assigned tasks will have their sprint field cleared. Sprint reports for deleted sprints are also removed.

Assigning Items to Sprints

Individual Assignment

Open any task → find the Sprint field in the detail panel → select the target sprint from the dropdown.

Bulk Assignment

Select multiple tasks using checkboxes in any board view → use the Bulk Edit toolbar → choose Set Sprint → pick the sprint.

This is the fastest way to load up a sprint backlog from a prioritized list.

Drag-and-Drop (Sprint View)

In the Sprints page, drag tasks between sprint buckets to reassign them. Useful during sprint planning sessions.

Sprint Views

Lifecycle includes built-in views pre-filtered by sprint:

View What It Shows
Active Sprint All tasks in the currently active sprint
All Sprints Tasks grouped by sprint, all states
My Sprint Work Tasks in the active sprint assigned to you

These views are available on any board that has sprints enabled. You can also create custom views filtered by sprint field.

Sidebar Navigation

The left sidebar organizes sprints into sections:

  • Active — The current sprint (highlighted)
  • Planning — Upcoming sprints in planning state
  • Completed — Archived sprints (collapsed by default, expandable)

Click any sprint in the sidebar to jump directly to that sprint's task list.

Sprint Planning Workflow

Here is the recommended flow for running a sprint:

  1. Grooming — Before sprint planning, ensure backlog items have estimates and clear acceptance criteria
  2. Planning session — Pull items into the sprint, check capacity, align on the sprint goal
  3. Activate — When the team commits, activate the sprint
  4. Daily standups — Use the Active Sprint view; check the sprint report for daily breakdowns
  5. Retrospective — After completing the sprint, open the sprint report to review completion rate and estimation accuracy
  6. Repeat — Move unfinished items, start the next sprint's planning

Tip: Plan your sprint during a dedicated refinement session — not right before you activate it. Assign tasks, confirm estimates, and check team capacity before the sprint begins. The sprint should start with clarity, not questions.

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