managing planned work in scrums

[Max_Clark]

we have recently moved to a cross functional team model - and there has been some obvious teething issues - one that has landed on my lap is if a dev only can commit say 2 hours of work to a story during a sprint but the story is 5 hours of work- how can i mark that they actually did the intended work despite the fact that the story would have to move to the next sprint.

[Mary from Planyway]

Hi @Max_Clark , you can handle this situation in several ways:

1. Use Sub-Tasks

• Break the story into sub-tasks and assign them individually.
• If the dev completed a 2-hour task, they can mark that sub-task as "Done", while the main story remains open.
• This way, their contribution is tracked, even if the story moves to the next sprint.

2. Log Work in Jira

• Encourage the dev to log their work (Time tracking field in Jira).
• They can enter 2h spent and leave a comment detailing what they completed which is easy to do with a time tracking app. For example, Planyway for Jira.
• This ensures their effort is recorded even if the story isn’t fully completed.

3. Use the "In Progress" and "Blocked" Statuses

• Move the story to In Progress and tag it with a label like Partially Completed.
• If it's blocked due to time constraints, you can use a custom "Blocked" status or a flag to highlight this.

4. Split the Story Across Sprints (If Needed)

• If this issue happens often, consider splitting stories into smaller, more manageable tasks before sprint planning.
• Example: Instead of a 5-hour story, create two stories: one for 2 hours (for this sprint) and another for 3 hours (for the next sprint).

5. Move to Next Sprint with Work Logged

• If the story must move to the next sprint, just move it as-is but ensure:
  • The work log reflects the 2 hours already spent.
  • The remaining estimate is updated.
  • A comment is added to document progress.

[Vishal Biyani]

Hi @Max_Clark 

5 hours will go in Original Estimate.

User will log actual hours against the story. in this example 2.

As the end of sprint, you should be able to get Actual vs Original estimate.

Will this work for you?