In the case that you serve as a project manager or team lead, there might arise situations where you must reopen a sprint within Jira. This needs may arise for a multitude of reasons, including the addition of tasks, unfinished work, or adjustments to project scope. Although Jira, a commonly utilized project management software, does not offer an in-built option to reactivate a closed sprint, there is a workaround available to do so.
Steps to Reopen a Sprint
It’s important to note that only users with ‘Manage Sprints’ permission in the Permission Scheme can perform these steps.
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Step 1: Go to your board and then click on ‘Active Sprints’.
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Step 2: Click on the ellipsis at the top right of the screen and select ‘Reports’.
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Step 3: Select ‘Sprint Report’ from the drop-down list and choose the sprint that you want to reopen.
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Step 4: In the ‘Issue Status’ column, you will see a list of ‘Completed Issues’ and ‘Issues Not Completed’.
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Step 5: Move the ‘Issues Not Completed’ to the current sprint or backlog. To do this, simply click on the ‘…’ next to each issue and select the appropriate option.
Things to Consider
While reopening a sprint may seem like a simple solution, it’s not always the best approach. It’s important to consider the implications before deciding to reopen a sprint.
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Disruption of Metrics: Reopening a sprint can disrupt your velocity chart, burn down/up chart, and other agile metrics that you may be tracking.
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Team Morale: Continuously reopening sprints could have an adverse effect on the team’s morale and motivation. It’s important to communicate the reasons for reopening a sprint and ensure everyone is on board.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while Jira does not explicitly have a function to reopen closed sprints, the process is still manageable. However, it should only be done if absolutely necessary and with consideration for the potential implications. It’s always best to plan your sprints carefully to avoid having to reopen them.
