CO-02
Multi-Sprint Carry-Over — Chronic Carryover Item
Carry-Over
Default severity: medium
PrioritizationOutputRiskEffort
What it detects
An issue has been carried over across more than the configured number of consecutive sprints without completion — it is chronically over-planned and never actually worked. Separate from zombie items (BH-01) which are older; this specifically detects sprint-plan-level chronic re-commitment.
Detection formula
FOR each_issue I: sprint_history = changelog.filter(field=\'sprint\').distinct_sprints_assigned carried_count = COUNT(sprints WHERE I was present AT sprint.end AND NOT done) IF carried_count >= config.co.chronic_carryover_sprints // default: 3 THEN FLAG chronic_carryover IF carried_count >= config.co.critical_carryover_sprints // default: 5 THEN CRITICAL — issue has been replanned 5+ times Report: all sprint assignments, completion status at each end, total SP and BV committed and not deliveredExamples in practice
- A team shows an issue has been carried over across more than the configured number of consecutive sprints without completion while chronic carryover sprints is set to 3.
- Example signal: An issue has been carried over across more than the configured number of consecutive sprints without completion — it is chronically over-planned and never actually worked.
Suggested response
Address chronic carry-over by rightsizing sprints and finishing or splitting stuck work.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
An issue has been carried over across more than the configured number of consecutive sprints without completion — it is chronically over-planned and never actually worked. Separate from zombie items (BH-01) which are older; this specifically detects sprint-plan-level chronic re-commitment.
Why it matters
When "Multi-Sprint Carry-Over — Chronic Carryover Item" keeps appearing, the team is signalling a repeatable process gap. Left unexamined, the pattern hides where work really stalls and makes improvement metrics harder to trust.
What you can achieve
Address chronic carry-over by rightsizing sprints and finishing or splitting stuck work.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Multi-Sprint Carry-Over — Chronic Carryover Item" from firing again?
- What do the cited issues have in common — same root cause or same workaround?
- Who owns the two-week experiment and how will we verify on the next import?
Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.