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Version: 24.3

Using the Close Sprint or Iteration Page

This article explains how to use the Close Sprint or Iteration page in Agility.

Overview​

At the end of each sprint or iteration, all open work is either closed, moved forward to another sprint, or placed back into the product backlog for future consideration. You should close or move all open workitems before you close a sprint. Once that occurs for all projects that use the sprint, you will be able to close the current sprint and roll forward into the next one from this page provided you have the sufficient rights to do so.

The Close Sprint (or Close Iteration) page allows you to manage all necessary functions for closing out a sprint or iteration. It also gives you the convenience of updating backlog items directly from the grid before you move, split, or close items.

What Else You Can Do​

  • Move Workitems to the Another Sprint or Iteration

Viewing Sprint or Iteration Summary Details​

The Sprint Summary (or Iteration Summary) section displays at the top of the Close Sprint page. It shows you the cumulative open (remaining) versus closed estimate for the selected sprint and team, as well as a reminder to close or move the remaining workitems before attempting to close the current sprint. The Next Iteration section to the far right provides a place where you can drag and drop backlog items to move them to the next sprint.

Closing Workitems​

You can close single or multiple workitems in the Remaining Items in the Backlog grid.

From the main menu:

  1. Click the hamburger menu Hamburger icon > Sprint > Close Sprint.

    • Select the project corresponding to the sprint you want to close from the Project drop-down list.
    • Select the sprint you want to close from the Sprint drop-down list.
    • Select the team associated with the sprint you want to close from the Team drop-down list.

  3. Close out open items that have been completed.

    • To close individual items, select the item(s) and click Quick Close. Closing a backlog item or defect zeros out all remaining To Do for it and closes any tasks and tests associated with it.
    • To close out all open backlog for a sprint, select all workitems from the Remaining Items in the Backlog grid, open the Quick Close drop-down menu, and select Close. The Close Item Confirmation window opens showing your selections. Click Save to close them all.

  5. If you make a mistake, you can reopen closed items by selecting them in the Closed Backlog grid and clicking Reopen Story or Reopen Defect.

If you are tracking Effort in your configuration, be sure to record that data before closing the items.

Splitting Stories or Backlog Items Across Sprints​

You can also elect to split a partially-completed story. Splitting the item creates two separate backlog items. The system pushes all estimate forward to the next chronological sprint with the new backlog item, so be sure to allocate the estimate for the backlog items appropriately if it should be any different.

  1. Click the hamburger menu Hamburger icon > Sprint > Close Sprint.
  2. Select the item you want to split into another sprint from the Remaining Items in the Backlog grid. Open the Quick Close drop-down menu and choose Split. The Split Edit window opens.
  3. Click Split. The system creates a new backlog item with an identical name and a new ID.
  4. In the New Item grid, assign the new item a different name (if necessary) and update any other fields as needed (i.e., Sprint or Iteration, Estimate, To Do).
  5. Click Save. The work from your existing backlog item has been pushed to the new item and saved.

A story can only be split once. If you re-enter Split mode for an item that has already been split, you will see the story that was split off previously.

Closing a Sprint​

When all items have been closed, split, or moved forward so there are no open items remaining in the sprint or iteration, an option to close the current sprint or iteration is available for those with proper access rights (i.e., Project Leads and Administrators).

  • If the next sprint or iteration already exists when the current one is closed, the next sprint or iteration automatically activates.
  • If the next sprint or iteration has not yet been created, an option to create it displays for those with access rights.
  • If this is the last sprint or iteration in the release or project, simply close the sprint or iteration to complete it.