# Run Sprints and Work Cycles

A sprint puts a goal and an end date around your team's work, so a week means something instead of being an endless list of tasks.

## TL;DR

A sprint is either **open** or **closed**. You or your team leader open one, the team works inside it, and one of you ends it when the work is done or the week is up. Nothing moves on its own. Sprints are optional: a team with no sprint still works its task board perfectly well.

## How It Works

A sprint has two states and no hidden ones in between.

| State | What it means | Who changes it |
|-------|--------------|----------------|
| **Open** | The sprint is running. Tasks land in it, the team works them, progress shows on the board | You or the team leader open it |
| **Closed** | The sprint is wrapped and kept as history, with whatever summary was written at the end | You or the team leader close it |

**Nothing expires on its own.** When a sprint passes its target end date it keeps running and the banner starts saying it is ready to wrap up. It closes when someone decides it is finished, not when a clock runs out.

**Planning and review are conversations.** Once a week the team leader talks to you about what the sprint should aim at and how the last one went. That conversation is the planning, and it is also the review. There is no separate mode the team sits in while it happens.

**Execution is schedule-driven.** The leader runs on a heartbeat schedule (default: every hour). Each heartbeat, the leader checks the task board, handles failures first, delegates one task per employee with pending work, and journals the cycle.

**Members activate on demand.** In pre-built teams, only the leader has a schedule. Members wake up when the leader delegates work, execute their task, and go idle.

**Unfinished work moves only if you say so.** When you end a sprint you choose whether to open the next one immediately and whether still-open tasks come with it. Nothing is moved or archived behind your back.

## The Review

Closing a sprint is where most of its value is. Your team lead writes the review themselves: what the sprint set out to do, what actually landed, what did not, and what they would change next time. It is written from the task board and the work journal, in their own words, and kept so you can look back at it later.

There is no separate ceremony to schedule or attend. The review is the close.

## Where to Find It

Sprints appear in the **Tasks** tab when viewing a team:

1. Go to your **Workspace**
2. Click on a team in the sidebar
3. Open the **Tasks** tab
4. The open sprint appears as a banner above the kanban board

The banner shows the sprint number, whether it is open, its goal, its duration, and how far through the week it is. With no sprint running, the same row offers a single button to start one.

## What You Can Do

| Action | How |
|--------|-----|
| **Start a sprint** | Click **Start a Sprint** on the banner, or **New Sprint** in the Tasks header |
| **Set or change the goal** | Open the sprint drawer and use **Set goal** or **Edit** beside Goals |
| **Change duration or recurrence** | Open the sprint drawer and choose **Edit Sprint** |
| **End a sprint** | Click **End Sprint**. Write a short summary if you want one, then choose whether the next sprint starts now and whether unfinished tasks move over |
| **Work without a sprint** | Just close the current one and do not start another. Tasks keep working |
| **View sprint tasks** | Open the team Tasks tab. Tasks are grouped by sprint |
| **Intervene mid-sprint** | Message the leader anytime to adjust goals or priorities |
| **View sprint history** | Open **Sprints History** to see every past sprint with its goals, tasks, and summary |
| **Export a sprint** | Open any past sprint and export it as Markdown, CSV, or JSON |
| **Delete a sprint** | Use the delete option in the Tasks header menu. Only an open sprint can be deleted; closed ones are history |

## How to Set It Up

1. **Hire a pre-built team.** Pre-built teams come ready to work in sprints
2. **Chat with the leader.** The leader asks what you need this week
3. **Start the sprint.** Give it a goal, pick a length, and let it run
4. **Let it run.** The leader assigns tasks and members execute
5. **End it when it is done.** Write what happened, decide whether the next one starts now

## Tips and Tricks

- **Be specific in your first sprint.** The leader has no history to work from. Tell them exactly what you want delivered
- **Give the sprint a goal.** A sprint without one is just a date range. One sentence is enough
- **Turn on Keep sprinting.** The next sprint is then offered the moment you close the current one, so the rhythm does not lapse by accident
- **Check the task board.** The team Tasks tab shows all sprint tasks. You can see what is in progress, what is done, and what is blocked
- **Let the leader handle failures.** If a member gets stuck, the leader reassigns or adjusts during their next heartbeat. You do not need to intervene
- **Say what to change at the end.** Your summary shapes the next sprint. Even a short "focus more on X" helps

## Good to Know

- **Sprints are team-level only.** Individual employees do not have sprints. Sprints coordinate work across a team through the leader
- **Sprints are optional.** A team with no sprint is a normal setup, not a broken one. Tasks, schedules, and chat all work the same
- **Tasks can live outside a sprint.** A task with no sprint is fine and shows on the board like any other
- **Past the end date is not a failure.** The sprint keeps running and simply asks to be wrapped up
- **Leader never stops.** Even between sprints or with an empty board, the leader keeps running on schedule. Employees or you can add tasks at any time
- **Sprint history is permanent.** Closed sprints, their goals, tasks, and summaries are all preserved. Nothing is deleted

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Do I have to plan every sprint myself?**
A: No. The leader proposes the goal based on the last sprint's results. You approve, adjust, or ignore it.

**Q: Can I change goals mid-sprint?**
A: Yes. Edit the goal from the sprint drawer, or message the leader to shift priorities.

**Q: How long is a sprint?**
A: Default is 7 days (1 week). The duration is configurable per sprint.

**Q: What happens when a sprint runs past its end date?**
A: Nothing breaks. It stays open and starts showing as ready to wrap up until you or the leader end it.

**Q: Do I have to run sprints at all?**
A: No. Close the current sprint and do not open another. The board, tasks, and schedules keep working exactly as before.

**Q: Can individual employees have sprints?**
A: No. Sprints are team-level only. For individual work, use tasks and schedules directly.