Start a Sprint

Sprints

Overview

Starting a sprint moves it from Planned to Active status and signals to the team that work has officially begun. Stories assigned to the sprint become visible on the sprint board, and velocity tracking starts from this point.

Only one sprint per team can be active at a time. If a previous sprint is still open, you need to close it before starting the next one.

Before you start

Run through this checklist before clicking Start Sprint:

CheckWhy it matters
Sprint has a start date and end dateRequired — the sprint cannot start without both dates set.
At least one story is assigned to the sprintA sprint with no stories can be started but is not useful.
Stories have been estimated (story points set)Recommended — velocity tracking and capacity planning rely on points.
Stories have acceptance criteriaRecommended — makes done/not-done unambiguous during the sprint.
No previous sprint is still marked as activeOnly one sprint per team can be active at a time. Close the previous sprint first.

Step 1 — Find the sprint

1Select your project from the project switcher
2Click Sprints in the left sidebar
3Locate the sprint you want to start — it should be in Planned status

Step 2 — Review sprint scope

Before starting, open the sprint to confirm its contents:

1Click the sprint name to open the sprint detail view
2Check the stories listed — verify they match what your team committed to
3Confirm total story points are within the team's capacity
4Make any last-minute changes — add, remove, or re-estimate stories as needed
Once the sprint is started you can still add or remove stories, but it's best practice to lock scope at the start and use the next sprint for anything that didn't fit.

Step 3 — Start the sprint

1From the sprint detail view or the sprint list, click Start Sprint
2Confirm the action in the dialog if prompted
3The sprint status changes to Active immediately
4Stories in the sprint are now visible on the Board view

After starting

Once the sprint is active:

  • Board view — team members move stories across columns (To Do → In Progress → Done) as work progresses
  • Burndown — the burndown chart in the sprint detail view updates as stories are completed
  • Daily standups — the Board view with filters by assignee is the typical standup tool
  • Adding scope — drag additional stories from the backlog into the active sprint if priorities change
  • Blocking stories — open a story and mark it as blocked, with a reason, so it surfaces in the Organization View risk panel

When all stories are done (or the end date arrives), close the sprint to move incomplete stories to the next sprint or backlog. See the Close a Sprint guide for the full close-out flow.

Troubleshooting

The "Start Sprint" button is greyed out or missing

You need update permission on the project. If the button is missing entirely, ask the project manager. If it's greyed out, check that the sprint has both a start date and end date set.

I get an error saying another sprint is already active

Only one sprint per team can be active at a time. Go to Sprints in the sidebar, find the currently active sprint, and close it before starting the new one.

The sprint start date is in the past

Silverile allows starting a sprint with a past start date — this is useful when you forgot to start it on the right day. The sprint dates are preserved as-is; only the status changes to Active.

Stories disappeared from the backlog after I started the sprint

Stories assigned to the sprint move from the backlog into the sprint board when the sprint starts. They haven't been deleted — open Board in the sidebar to find them.

I started the wrong sprint by mistake

Open the sprint and use the Close Sprint option to end it immediately. You can then re-open or adjust dates on the correct sprint and start it instead.

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