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User Guide — Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning & Capacity Planning for Jira

User Guide — Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning & Capacity Planning for Jira

This guide shows Scrum teams how to refine the backlog and plan sprints with real capacity using Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning & Capacity Planning for Jira — surfacing incomplete stories, creating subtasks on the spot, and comparing sprint load to planned capacity and past velocity.

Try it free: Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning & Capacity Planning on the Atlassian Marketplace — 30-day free trial.

1. Installation

  1. Sign in to Jira Cloud as a site administrator.

  2. Go to Apps → Explore more apps and search for Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning & Capacity Planning for Jira.

  3. Click Get it now, choose your site, and accept the requested permissions.

  4. Start your free trial when prompted.

2. Configure the app

Before planning, choose the projects you want the app to operate on. The app then analyzes your past sprints on those projects to calculate each team's past velocity, which it uses throughout refinement and planning.

3. Refine the backlog

Use the app's refinement filters to find and fix gaps before the sprint starts:

  • Stories missing subtasks — surface stories that still need to be broken down.

  • Stories that don't follow the template — flag items that don't match the "As a…, I want…, So…" user-story format.

  • Incomplete and unplanned stories — catch work that isn't ready to commit.

  • Create subtasks on the spot — add subtasks and assign story points or hours on the same screen, without losing focus.

  • Show/hide Epics and Subtasks in the sprint and backlog to focus the view.

(New filters are added regularly.)

4. Plan the sprint with capacity and velocity

  • Sprint load bar. As the team adds story points or hours, the load bar compares the current sprint load to past velocity — including the last sprint's velocity and the 3‑sprint average — so you avoid over- or under-committing.

  • Per-member capacity. See each team member's planned capacity and current allocation, and spot who can take more and who's overloaded.

  • Plan your way. Work in story points or time (hours) — whichever your team uses.

  • Over/under allocation. Watch allocation update live while team members estimate their work.

5. Look ahead

While you plan the current sprint, preview the load of the next sprint so you can sequence work and smooth capacity across sprints.

6. Tips for predictable planning

  • Refine first: clear missing-subtask and template flags before you commit the sprint.

  • Treat the load-vs-velocity bar as the commitment gate — green-light only when load is at or below sustainable velocity.

  • Re-check per-member allocation after every change so no one is silently overloaded.

7. Getting help