The short answer
The sprint is the work the team has committed to for the current period, a month or less. The backlog is everything else the team might do later, kept in order, with the most important work at the top.
In Jira, both appear on the Backlog page of a scrum board. Atlassian describes it as showing the space's work items grouped into a backlog and sprints: one section per sprint, and below them a section called Backlog. Work moves from the Backlog section into a sprint when the team plans it. Only the active sprint's work shows on the board.
Reading the Backlog page
Open your board and select the Backlog tab in the space navigation. From top to bottom you will see:
- The active sprint, if one is running. This is the same work that shows on the board.
- Future sprints, if the team has created any. Planned but not started.
- The Backlog section: everything that is not in a sprint yet.
Each section is a list of work items with their key, summary, and fields such as priority. Atlassian lets you edit some of these fields, including priority, directly on the backlog, without opening the ticket.
What the backlog is for
The Scrum Guide describes the product backlog as an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product, and it gives the job of ordering it to the Product Owner. Two words in that description matter:
- Ordered. The backlog is not a pile. Its position is its plan: the top is what the team expects to take next. In Jira, you drag a work item up or down to rank it, or right-click it to send it to the top or bottom of the backlog. More on this in how to sort the backlog.
- Emergent. It changes. New requests are added, old ones are refined, and some are removed when they stop mattering.
A ticket in the backlog is not forgotten and not rejected. It is simply not planned yet.
What the sprint is for
The Scrum Guide describes a sprint as a fixed-length event of one month or less, with a single objective called the Sprint Goal. The work picked for it, together with the goal and a plan for doing it, forms the sprint backlog, which the guide calls a plan by and for the developers.
In other words, the sprint is a promise for a short period. That is why moving work into an active sprint is a team decision: it changes what the team said it would finish. The full lifecycle, from starting a sprint to completing it, is in what a sprint is in Jira.
Side by side
| Backlog | Sprint | |
|---|---|---|
| Holds | Work not planned yet | Work planned for now |
| Time frame | Open-ended | One month or less |
| Order | Ranked by importance | Ranked, worked top first |
| On the board? | No | Yes, while active |
Where a new ticket goes
You can create work items directly on the Backlog page, inside the Backlog section or inside a sprint. A ticket that is not added to a sprint waits in the Backlog section. That is the safe default: the team sees it when it next plans, and the current sprint is not disturbed.
A good habit when you log something for another team: leave it unassigned and in the backlog, with a clear summary and description. The team picks it up when it plans the next sprint. If it is urgent, say so with the priority field and tell the person who runs the sprint, rather than putting it into the sprint yourself.
How work moves between them
- Backlog to sprint: drag the work item from the Backlog section into the sprint section. To start a new sprint, select Create sprint and drag work items into it.
- Sprint to backlog: drag it back down. This is how a team takes work out of a sprint when plans change.
- At the end of a sprint: when someone completes the sprint, Atlassian's help says anything not finished can go to the backlog, to a future sprint, or to a new sprint. Finished work is work in the last column of the board.
Moving work into or out of an active sprint changes the team's sprint reports. If you are not the person who plans sprints, ask before you drag something in.
What if your team has no sprints?
Kanban teams work without sprints. Atlassian notes that they traditionally do not use a backlog at all, but they can switch one on to hold work that has not started. On a kanban board with a backlog, you drag work from the Backlog list onto the board when there is room. The differences between the two board kinds are in scrum vs kanban boards.
Practise reading a sprint board
Knowing what is in the sprint is the first step to knowing what is going on. Agile Board Practice starts you on a practice sprint board, where you read the columns, find who is working on what, and create a new ticket for the backlog, with feedback on every step.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between backlog and sprint in Jira?
The sprint holds the work the team committed to for the current period of one month or less, and it is what the board shows. The backlog holds everything not planned yet, ranked with the most important work at the top.
Why is my ticket in the backlog and not on the board?
On a scrum board, only the active sprint's work shows on the board. A ticket stays in the backlog until someone drags it into the sprint, so look on the Backlog page.
How do I move a ticket from the backlog to a sprint?
Open the Backlog page and drag the work item from the Backlog section into the sprint section. Check with whoever plans the sprint first if the sprint is already running.
What happens to unfinished work at the end of a sprint?
When the sprint is completed, unfinished work items can be moved to the backlog, a future sprint or a new sprint. Work in the last column of the board counts as finished.
Does a kanban board have a backlog?
It can. Kanban teams traditionally work without a backlog, but Jira lets a kanban board turn one on for work that has not started.