Sprint Planning in ClickUp

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Sprint Planning in ClickUp: Step-by-Step Guide

Sprint planning in ClickUp helps agile teams turn ideas into a clear, time-boxed plan so everyone knows what to deliver in the next sprint. This how-to guide walks you through setting up templates, views, and workflows drawn from the sprint planning templates described on the official blog.

Why Plan Sprints in ClickUp

Using ClickUp for sprint planning centralizes backlog items, conversations, and documents in one workspace. Instead of juggling multiple tools, you can:

  • Organize and prioritize the product backlog
  • Estimate work with story points, time, or custom fields
  • Visualize capacity for each team member
  • Track sprint goals and progress with real-time views
  • Standardize your agile process with reusable templates

All of this reduces meeting time and increases predictability for your team and stakeholders.

Prepare Your Workspace in ClickUp

Start by creating a structure that mirrors your agile process. You can adapt this setup to any development or project team.

Create a Space for Agile Projects in ClickUp

  1. Create a new Space dedicated to agile or product development.
  2. Add key folders inside the Space, such as:
    • Product Backlog
    • Sprint Planning
    • Active Sprints
    • Retrospectives
  3. Define statuses that match your workflow, for example:
    • Backlog
    • Ready
    • In Progress
    • In Review
    • Done

This structure lets you keep long-term work in the backlog while short-term work lives in individual sprints.

Set Up Custom Fields in ClickUp

Custom fields make sprint planning more accurate. Based on the sprint templates from the source article, consider these fields:

  • Story Points (number field)
  • Priority (dropdown, for example: Low, Medium, High, Urgent)
  • Sprint (dropdown to tag tasks to a sprint)
  • Estimate (hours) (number field)
  • Assignee Capacity (for workload planning)

Apply these fields to all lists used in your agile workflow so data stays consistent.

Use ClickUp Sprint Planning Templates

The official sprint planning templates from ClickUp’s sprint planning blog guide provide ready-made structures you can import and customize.

Import a Sprint List Template in ClickUp

  1. Navigate to your Sprint Planning folder.
  2. Create a new list and select the option to use a template.
  3. Search for sprint-related templates such as:
    • Sprint Planning Template
    • Scrum Sprint Backlog Template
    • Agile Scrum Management Template
  4. Preview the template details, including views, statuses, and custom fields.
  5. Import the template and choose whether to keep or remove example tasks.

After import, adapt the template names, fields, and views to match your existing workflow.

Configure ClickUp Views for Sprints

Effective sprint planning relies on the right views. Most ClickUp sprint templates include these helpful options:

  • List view for detailed backlog grooming
  • Board view for Kanban-style status changes
  • Calendar view for due-date alignment
  • Gantt view for dependencies and timelines
  • Dashboard or workload views for capacity planning

Pin the views your team uses most and hide any that are not needed to keep the interface clean.

Run a Sprint Planning Session in ClickUp

Once your templates and views are ready, you can use ClickUp during the sprint planning meeting to agree on scope, estimates, and owners.

Step 1: Refine the Backlog

  1. Open your Product Backlog list in ClickUp.
  2. Filter out completed or outdated tasks.
  3. Sort by priority so the most valuable items are at the top.
  4. Use custom fields such as Story Points or Estimates to fill in missing data.
  5. Break large tasks into smaller, sprint-sized subtasks.

Refining the backlog beforehand reduces decisions you need to make during the meeting.

Step 2: Define the Sprint Goal in ClickUp

  1. Create a new Sprint list or use the Sprint field to tag tasks.
  2. Add a task at the top called “Sprint Goal” that summarizes the main outcome.
  3. Use the description area to record:
    • Business objective
    • Key metrics or deliverables
    • Constraints or assumptions

This Sprint Goal task becomes your reference point throughout the sprint.

Step 3: Select Sprint Scope with ClickUp Views

  1. Use a backlog List or Board view to drag top-priority items into the sprint.
  2. Check total Story Points or estimated hours using the column summaries.
  3. Switch to a workload or capacity view (if available) to ensure the team is not over-allocated.
  4. Adjust scope until the total work matches your team’s capacity for the sprint length.

Because all estimates are tracked as fields, ClickUp can quickly reveal when the sprint is overloaded.

Step 4: Assign and Schedule Tasks in ClickUp

  1. Assign each sprint task to one or more owners.
  2. Set start and due dates that fall within the sprint timeframe.
  3. Add dependencies to show which tasks must be finished before others can begin.
  4. Use comments or checklist items to clarify acceptance criteria.

Keeping assignments and dates clear in ClickUp reduces confusion once the sprint starts.

Track Sprint Execution in ClickUp

After planning, your ClickUp setup becomes the single source of truth for tracking progress throughout the sprint.

Monitor Progress with Dashboards and Boards

  • Use Board view to move tasks through statuses from Backlog to Done.
  • Set up a Dashboard with widgets for:
    • Tasks by status
    • Burndown or burnup charts (where available)
    • Workload by assignee
    • Blocked or at-risk tasks
  • Review the Dashboard during daily standups to keep the team aligned.

These views make it easy to spot scope creep, bottlenecks, and underutilized capacity.

Hold Retrospectives in ClickUp

  1. Create a recurring list or document for sprint retrospectives.
  2. Use three main sections: What Went Well, What Didn’t, and Action Items.
  3. Turn action items into tasks and assign owners and due dates.
  4. Link the retrospective tasks back to the sprint list for context.

Over time, this creates a continuous improvement history directly inside ClickUp.

Best Practices for Sprint Planning in ClickUp

  • Standardize templates: Use one shared sprint template across teams to improve reporting.
  • Keep fields lean: Only track fields that are used in decisions or reports.
  • Timebox planning: Keep the session focused by preparing the backlog in advance.
  • Align with product goals: Link sprint tasks to higher-level objectives or epics.
  • Review metrics: Compare planned versus completed work each sprint to refine estimates.

If you need expert help refining your workspace, you can work with implementation specialists such as ConsultevO to tailor agile processes to your organization.

Next Steps: Master Sprint Planning with ClickUp

By combining sprint planning templates, custom fields, and powerful views, ClickUp gives your team a consistent way to plan and execute every sprint. Start with a dedicated agile Space, import a sprint template, refine your backlog, and use capacity-aware planning to commit to realistic goals.

As you iterate, adjust your ClickUp setup to match the way your team actually works, and use retrospectives to continuously improve the process.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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