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

View 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.

Close 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 > Sprint > Close Sprint.

2. • 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.

4. • 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.

Split 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 > 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.

Close 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 becomes available in the Sprint Summary section, in place of the reminder to close or move the remaining workitems.

To close a sprint or iteration, your Admin Privileges role must be set to Project Lead or higher, and your Project Role must be set to Team Member or higher. For more information about the two role types, see Understanding Roles and Project Membership.

• 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.

Close a Sprint from the Sprint Scheduling Page

You can also close a sprint or iteration from its Details page:

1. Click the hamburger menu > Iteration (or Sprint) > Iteration Scheduling (or Sprint Scheduling).
2. In the summary list on the left, hover over the sprint or iteration you want to close to view its details. Click its name to open its Details page. An open sprint or iteration has a State of Active.
3. Click Edit > Close. A confirmation page opens, listing the total estimate, the total To Do, the open story and defect counts, and any remaining items in the backlog that are not yet closed.
4. Click Close Iteration (or Close Sprint) to confirm, or click Cancel to keep the sprint open.

Closing a sprint or iteration does not close the workitems it contains, so close or move those workitems first. After the sprint is closed, its State changes to Closed and its title displays with a strikethrough.

If the Option to Close the Sprint Is Not Available

The option to close a sprint or iteration appears in two places: in the Sprint Summary section of the Close Sprint page, and as Edit > Close on the sprint's Details page. If neither option is available, check the following:

• Open items remain in another project that uses the same sprint. The Remaining Items in the Backlog grid lists only the items that belong to the project and team you selected, but a sprint cannot be closed while any project that uses it still has open items. Because a sprint schedule can be shared by a project and its child projects, the same sprint is often in use by more than one project. Select the highest-level project that shares the sprint schedule, and set Team to All, so that the grid lists every remaining item.
• Open items remain with another team. Set Team to All to include the items assigned to teams other than the one you selected.
• Your roles do not permit closing sprints. Click your avatar in the top right corner of any page, followed by My Details, to check your Admin Privileges role and your Project Role for the project. A member who can view the Close Sprint page and close individual items cannot necessarily close the sprint itself.