Glossary

Active Sprint

An active sprint is a sprint which has been started and is now visible in the Active sprints.

Backlog

A backlog is a list of the outstanding user stories, bugs and features for a product (Product Backlog) or sprint (Sprint Backlog).

Burndown Chart

A Burndown Chart shows the actual and estimated amount of work to be done in a sprint. The horizontal x-axis in a Burndown Chart
indicates time, and the vertical y-axis indicates cards (issues).

Control Chart

A Control Chart can show the cycle time or lead time for your product, version or sprint. The horizontal x-axis in a Control Chart
indicates time, and the vertical y-axis indicates the number of days issues have spent in those statuses.

Cumulative Flow Diagram

A Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) is an area chart that shows the various statuses of work items for a particular time interval. The
horizontal x-axis in a CFD indicates time, and the vertical y-axis indicates cards (issues). Each coloured area of the chart equates to a
workflow status (i.e. a column on your board).

Cycle Time

Cycle time is the time spent working on an issue — typically, the time taken from when work begins on an issue to when work is
completed, but also includes any other time spent working on the issue. For example, if an issue is reopened, worked on, and
completed again, then the time for this extra work is added to the cycle time.

Epic

An epic captures a large body of work. It is essentially a large user story that can be broken down into a number of smaller stories. It
may take several sprints to complete an epic. 

Filter

Your board's filter is a JIRA _issue filter (a _JQL query) that specifies which issues are displayed on your board. To choose which issue
filter is associated with your board, see the documentation on Configuring Filters.

Future Sprint

A future sprint is a sprint which is being planned in the Backlog but has not yet been started.

Issue

A JIRA _issue can be used in different ways depending on how you are using JIRA.

Iteration

See sprint.

Kanban

Kanban is a system for visualizing the flow of work and limiting work in progress. Kanban allows a team to reduce waste and focus
on delivering customer value.

Kanban Board

A Kanban board is a board that was created using either the "Kanban" preset or the "DIY" option (see Creating a Board).

Lead Time

Lead time is the time taken from when an issue is logged until work is completed on that issue.
Product Backlog

A product backlog is a high level list of customer requirements for the project that is owned by the product owner/manager.

Quick Filter

A Quick Filter refines the collection of issues displayed on your board. Quick Filters appear immediately below the board name in
the Backlog and Active sprints. Click a Quick Filter to apply it (click it again to turn it off). 

Scrum

Scrum is an Agile http://agilemanifesto.org/ development methodology where work is completed iteratively over a number of
discrete time periods (sprints). For more information, please see this wikipedia reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_
%28development%29.

Scrum Board

A Scrum board is a board that was created using the "Scrum" preset (see Creating a Board).

Scrum of Scrums

Scrum of Scrums is a means of scaling Scrum to large, multi-team projects. Scrum of Scrums is the Agile version of what is
traditionally known as program management.

Sprint

A sprint — also known as an iteration — is a short (ideally two to four week) period in which the development team implements and
delivers a discrete product increment, e.g. a working milestone version. 

Sprint Backlog

A sprint backlog contains the list of tasks that need to be completed to implement the features planned for a particular Sprint.
Ideally, each task in a sprint is relatively short and can be picked up by a team member rather than being assigned.

Story

A story or user story is a software system requirement that is expressed in a few short sentences, ideally using non-technical
language.

Story Point

A story point is an estimate of the relative complexity of a story.

Swimlane

A swimlane is a means of categorising issues so that agile teams can see which issues they should work on next.

Task

A task is a unit of work contained within a story.

Velocity

The velocity of a team is a measure of how much work that the team can handle within a specific time period, i.e. how much of the
product backlog can be completed by the team in a sprint. Velocity can be calculated on the basis of story points, business value,
hours, issue count, or any numeric field of your choice (see Configuring Estimation and Tracking).

Version

A version is a set of features and fixes released together as a single update to your product.

Wallboard

A wallboard is a type of information radiator that displays vital data about the progress of the development team. Similar to a
scoreboard at a sporting event, wallboards are large, highly visible and easily understood by anyone walking by.