Close a Sprint

Sprints

Overview

Closing a sprint marks the end of the sprint cycle. Silverile records the final velocity, and you decide what to do with any incomplete stories — move them to the next sprint, return them to the backlog, or accept them as delivered.

You can close a sprint at any point while it is active — on the planned end date, early if all work is done, or late if the team needs a few extra days.

Before you close

Run through these steps before closing:

  • Accept completed stories — open each finished story and move it to Accepted status so it counts toward velocity
  • Decide on incomplete stories — know whether unfinished work goes to the next sprint or back to the backlog
  • Create the next sprint first — if you want the option to move stories directly into it, the next sprint needs to exist before you start the close flow

Step 1 — Open the active sprint

1Select your project from the project switcher
2Click Sprints in the left sidebar
3Find the sprint with Active status and click it to open the detail view

Step 2 — Review story statuses

Before closing, make sure story statuses reflect reality:

1Go through each story on the board and confirm its status is correct
2Move finished stories to Accepted — these count toward the sprint's velocity
3Stories still in In Development, Testing, or Ready are treated as incomplete when you close

Step 3 — Close the sprint

1Click Close Sprint in the sprint detail view
2A dialog appears listing all incomplete stories
3For each incomplete story, choose what to do with it (see table below)
4Click Confirm to complete the close
ActionWhen to use it
Move to next sprintStory was in progress and should continue immediately in the next sprint.
Move to backlogStory didn't get started, or needs re-prioritisation before being scheduled again.
Accept as-isStory is complete enough to mark accepted even if not every criterion was met — use with care.
Leave and closeNo incomplete stories — all work is done or already accepted.

After closing

Once the sprint is closed:

  • Sprint status changes to Closed — it becomes read-only and moves to the sprint history
  • Velocity is recorded — story points from Accepted stories are logged against this sprint
  • Incomplete stories land wherever you directed them during close — check the backlog or next sprint to confirm
  • Retrospective data — the closed sprint's burndown and velocity charts remain accessible from the sprint history for team retrospectives
After closing, start the next sprint when the team is ready. If the next sprint doesn't exist yet, create it first — see the Create a Sprint guide.

Troubleshooting

The "Close Sprint" button is missing or greyed out

Closing a sprint requires update permission on the project. If the button is missing, ask your project manager. If greyed out, check that the sprint is currently Active — only active sprints can be closed.

I can't find where to move incomplete stories

The close sprint dialog lists all incomplete stories and lets you choose a destination for each — next sprint or backlog. If no next sprint exists yet, create one first so it appears as an option.

The sprint is still showing as Active after I closed it

Refresh the page. Sprint status updates immediately, but the UI sometimes needs a reload to reflect the change.

I accidentally closed the sprint before it was finished

Closing a sprint cannot be undone. However, you can create a new sprint, pull the affected stories back in from the backlog or the next sprint, and continue work there.

The velocity chart didn't update after closing

Velocity is calculated from accepted stories. If stories were moved to the next sprint rather than accepted, they won't count toward this sprint's velocity. Accept completed stories before closing to get an accurate reading.

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