I am a product owner and manage an HR data platform. I am currently using Excel sheets for sprint planning. Are there any standard template in Jira we could use to use for sprint planning?
Hi @Jaspreet Singh
Yes. When you create a space, pick the Scrum template. It gives you a backlog where you list your user stories, then you move them into sprints, start the sprint and track it on the board, with sprint reports and burndown charts built in: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/templates/scrum
Since your plan already lives in Excel, you don't have to retype it. Save the sheet as CSV and import it, mapping your columns (summary, description, assignee and so on) to Jira fields: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/import-data-from-a-csv-file/
Your title mentions user stories too. Did you mean a standard format for writing the story itself, or the sprint planning setup?
For user stories, use: As a [user], I want [goal] so that [benefit]. Add acceptance criteria below. Jira also supports reusable Block Templates to keep descriptions consistent: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/use-block-templates-in-jira/
Best,
Arek🤠🧙♂️
If you meant the format of the story itself (Thanasis's question), a common minimal shape that works well with the Scrum template:
Summary: As a [role], I want [capability], so that [outcome].
Description: two lines of context, then "Acceptance criteria" as a short checklist or Given / When / Then lines.
Definition of done: a link to one team page rather than a copy in every story.
To get it pre-filled, an Automation rule on "Work item created" with the condition "Description is empty" can set the Description to that text, so people edit a template instead of starting from a blank field. For an HR data platform I would add one "Data impact" line (which tables or reports change): it saves a round of questions in refinement.
(Drafted with an AI assistant and reviewed by me.)
Hi @Jaspreet Singh, you've already got good answers to your questions - Jira does have some standard templates, and additional enhancements can be done with Jira Automation. One thing that native Jira doesn't handle out of the box is standardizing the structure of individual user stories as your team creates them. Jira's Description field doesn't have a built-in default value, so each person filling in a story starts from a blank slate. There is no way to clone the current user stories to reuse them, and creating them in bulk is only possible with automation - which works but can be cumbersome, especially to people who are less technical or new to Jira.
If you're open to a Marketplace app, I'd recommend Templating.app, and full disclosure: I am affiliated with the team behind the app. It has all sorts of templates: for work items, descriptions, boards, spaces, even checklists and subtasks. It lets you clone or create user stories and other work items in bulk, predefine descriptions, import user stories from cvs, and so on. When creating user stories in bulk, you can also set variables, and automatically fill information like a default assignee or due date.
The first image shows the setup of an issue template, and the gif shows the description template in real life.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to help or show you around.
Hi Jaspreet, one addition for the "standard format" side of your question. If you want every new story to start with the same outline (the story statement, acceptance criteria and definition of done), Jira can do it natively. How depends on your space type:
Team-managed space: set default text for the Description field on the Story work type (Space settings > Work types > Story). People see it in the Create dialog.
Company-managed space: the system Description has no default. Atlassian's workaround is a paragraph custom field with a default value on the Create screen, copied into Description by a post function:
https://support.atlassian.com/jira/kb/adding-default-description-in-company-managed-project/
A lighter alternative is an Automation rule that adds the outline just after the story is created. Put {{issue.description}} in it so it keeps whatever the person typed:
{{issue.description}}
https://support.atlassian.com/automation/kb/how-to-set-a-default-description-template-for-an-issue-type-in-jira-cloud/
For the sprint planning itself, the Scrum template and CSV import Thanasis linked are the right place to start.
Hi, my name is Logan Vantrease,
Jira Software already provides Scrum boards and backlogs for creating, ranking, estimating, and assigning issues to sprints. You can also create a saved filter for the work your team wants to review during sprint planning. However, Jira does not provide one universal spreadsheet template for every team, so you would typically configure the issue types, fields, workflow, and board to match your planning process.
For a more Excel-like planning experience inside Jira, JXL provides spreadsheet-style sheets where you can view Jira work items in configurable columns, edit fields inline, and update many cells at once using copy and paste. This can be useful for preparing a sprint plan from an HR data platform backlog without exporting the work to Excel. JXL also supports organising and visualising work by hierarchy, which can help keep larger initiatives and their stories in context. You can learn more in the JXL documentation ( https://jxl.app/docs/?utm_source=atlassian-community&utm_medium=referral ) and find JXL on the Atlassian Marketplace ( https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1224710/jxl-sheets-hierarchy-structure-sum-up-time-in-status-table ).
Cheers, Logan
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