Sprint backlog template

Sprints are meant to make your team's workflow smoother, but things can get hectic when priorities or deadlines change. Without a good system to organize and prioritize tasks, it becomes tough to manage your team's workload and adapt to changes.

A sprint backlog template can make things easier. This guide explains what a sprint backlog template is, what to include, why a digital version is helpful, and how to start using one in Asana.

What is a sprint backlog template?

A sprint backlog template is a tool you can use again and again to plan and organize work for each sprint. It keeps track of important details like estimated effort, priority, and status, helping your team stay organized. Rather than building a new plan every time, just copy the template, add your tasks, and get started.

What is a sprint?

A sprint is a set period when a team works toward specific goals. Sprints usually last about two weeks and are a key part of Agile project management, often used by product, engineering, or software teams. Sprints help teams improve over time, since after each sprint, the team reviews what they learned and uses that knowledge in the next sprint.

What to include in your sprint backlog template

Your sprint backlog template should track all the tasks your team will complete during a given sprint. This is different from a product backlog, which organizes all the upcoming work on your team's plate.

When making a sprint backlog template, focus only on the work your team will do in the next sprint. To stay organized, make sure your template has space for the following details:

• Task name: A brief description of the task

• Task type: The category of the task, for example, "bug" or "feature."

• Level of effort: The estimated time or effort required to complete the task, often documented with story points.

• Priority: How important the task is, within the context of your team and company goals.

• User story: An informal explanation of each task from the perspective of an end user. User stories provide context for your team, and typically follow the format "As a [persona], I want to [goal], so that [result]."

• Agile epic: The larger body of work each task is associated with. For example, a task to update mobile images might be part of a larger epic to refresh your mobile experience.

If you want to track the status of work, it's also helpful to create sections in your template for each task completion stage. For example, you could create sections for "not started," "developing," "testing," and "complete." As your team completes work, you can drag and drop tasks into their respective sections, or automate tasks to move on their own.

What are the benefits of a digital sprint backlog template?

A digital sprint backlog template automatically updates as your team completes work, so you always have a real-time view of progress. This makes it easier to manage your team's workload and stay adaptable when priorities shift.

When you use a project management tool to make your sprint backlog template, you can:

• Plan and collaborate on your sprint backlog in one central location.

• See a bird's-eye view of all the tasks your team needs to complete for your current sprint.

• Move tasks through different stages as your team completes work, so stakeholders can see the most up-to-date task and project status.

• Easily add tasks to your sprint backlog template from your product backlog, without duplicating work.

• Toggle between views, including your sprint backlog as a list, a Kanban board, or a Gantt chart, without any extra work.

• Assign owners and due dates for each deliverable, so it's clear who's doing what by when.

• Attach documents, links, or images to tasks to provide contextual information.

• Easily adjust deadlines and owners if priorities shift.

How to get started with your sprint backlog template

Here are the steps to set up your sprint backlog template and start using it with your team.

1. Copy the template. Start by duplicating your sprint backlog template, so you have a fresh version for each new sprint. This way, your original template stays clean and reusable.

2. Define your sprint goal. Before adding tasks, align your team on the sprint goal. A clear sprint goal helps your team focus on the work that matters most.

3. Pull tasks from your product backlog. Review your product backlog and select the tasks your team will tackle during the upcoming sprint. Prioritize tasks with a priority matrix based on effort, dependencies, and business value.

4. Assign owners and due dates. Give each task a clear owner and deadline so everyone knows who's responsible and when work is due. This creates accountability and keeps the sprint moving forward.

5. Track progress throughout the sprint. As your team works, move tasks through status stages like "not started," "in progress," and "complete." Use daily stand-ups to review progress and address blockers.

6. Review and iterate. When the sprint ends, review what went well and what didn't with a sprint retro. Apply those learnings to improve your next sprint backlog and refine your process over time.

Integrations and features to try

Looking to make your sprint process even smoother? Here are some features that can help you save time and focus on important work.

Integrated features

• Board View. A Kanban-style view that displays your project in columns organized by status (like To Do, doing, and done). Tasks appear as cards with key details, such as due dates and custom fields, so you can track progress at a glance.

• Dependencies. Mark a task as waiting on another task so your team knows what's blocked and what's ready to start. When a dependent task is completed or rescheduled, Asana automatically notifies the next assignee.

• Start dates. Track when work should begin, not just when it's due. Start dates give your team a clear sense of how long each task should take and help prevent dependencies from falling through the cracks.

• Adding tasks to multiple projects. Track the same task across multiple projects without duplicating work. This increases cross-team visibility and helps everyone see tasks in context.

Recommended apps

• Jira. Create interactive, connected workflows between technical and business teams to increase real-time visibility into the product development process, all without leaving Asana.

• GitHub. Automatically sync GitHub pull request status updates to Asana tasks. Track pull request progress and improve cross-functional collaboration between technical and non-technical teams, all from within Asana.

• Google Workplace. Attach files directly to tasks in Asana using the Google Workspace file picker, built into the Asana task pane. Easily attach any My Drive file with just a few clicks.

• Slack. Turn ideas, work requests, and action items from Slack into Asana tasks and comments that are trackable. Easily capture work so requests and to-dos don't get lost in Slack.

Streamline your sprint planning with Asana

A sprint backlog template gives your team a repeatable system for planning, organizing, and tracking sprint work. Instead of spending time setting up your backlog from scratch, you can focus on the work that moves your project forward.

With Asana, your sprint backlog template comes to life. Track progress in real time, assign owners, manage dependencies, and toggle between views, all in one place. Get started and see how Asana helps your Agile team deliver better sprints.

FAQs about sprint backlog templates