# Plan cycles and sprints

> Group tasks into a cycle with a start and an end date, follow its progress, and in Scrum projects read points, velocity and the sprint filter.

Source: https://priortasks.com/docs/agile/cycles-and-sprints/
Last updated: 2026-11-05

A cycle is a stretch of time with a start date, an end date and the tasks you plan to finish in it. In a Scrum project cycles are called **sprints** and come with points, velocity and a sprint filter. Cycles work in every agile project; owners and editors create them, and everyone in the project sees them.

> [!pro] Sprints are part of Scrum
> Cycles are free. The sprint extras described below (points, velocity, sprint filter, burn charts) need a Scrum project whose owner has Pro. See [Choose Kanban, Scrum or Scrumban](https://priortasks.com/docs/agile/kanban-scrum-scrumban/).

## Create a cycle or a sprint

1. Open the **Cycles** tab (**Sprints** in a Scrum project). If you do not see it, choose **Add a view** after the tabs, then **Cycles**.
2. Choose **New cycle**, or **New sprint** in Scrum.
3. Give it a name, a **Start date** and an **End date**. All three are required, and the end cannot come before the start.
4. Tick the tasks that belong to it. Use the search box to find a task by title or number. In a Scrum or Scrumban project each task shows its points, and the dialog adds up what you have committed.
5. Save.

To change a cycle, choose **Edit cycle** (**Edit sprint**) on its card, or right-click the card. A project can have up to 100 cycles.

## How a cycle reads

Prior compares the dates with today. A cycle is **Current** between its first and last day, **Upcoming** before it starts, and **Past** after its last day (**Finished** for a sprint). The last day counts in full.

Each card shows its dates, "3 of 8 issues complete" and a progress bar. A sprint shows the bar in points instead: "13 of 21 pts done", with "2 not estimated" for tasks that still have no size.

## What Scrum adds

- **Sprint filter.** On the **Board** and **Issues** tabs, a **Sprint** filter offers **Active sprint**, **All** and **Backlog**, the tasks that are in no sprint. It starts on the running sprint, or on **All** when none is running.
- **Velocity.** Above the sprints, Prior shows the average points finished in your last three finished sprints that had tasks, such as "14.5 pts per sprint". Until a sprint has finished, it says "Finish a sprint to see your velocity".
- **Burn charts.** A chart of the current sprint sits above the cards. See [Read a sprint's burn chart](https://priortasks.com/docs/agile/burn-charts/).
- **Planning Poker.** The start screen can pick the tasks of the active sprint or the next one in one click. See [Estimate together with Planning Poker](https://priortasks.com/docs/agile/planning-poker/).

## Good to know

- **Prior does not move unfinished tasks by itself.** At the end of a sprint, edit the next one and tick the tasks you carry over.
- **Delete a cycle** from its editor: open it, choose **Delete cycle** (**Delete sprint** in a Scrum project) and confirm. Its tasks stay in the project.
- Viewers see cycles and progress, but cannot create or edit them.