What does carry forward mean in sprint planning?

Carry forward means moving unfinished tickets or tasks from the current sprint to the next sprint. Teams use this phrase when work was not completed on time.

Is carry forward the same as roll over?

Yes, carry forward and roll over mean the same thing. Roll over is slightly more casual. Both mean moving work to the next period.

Can I use carry forward for meetings?

Yes. You can carry forward action items or discussion topics to the next meeting. For example: 'Let's carry forward this topic to tomorrow's sync.'

Is carry forward negative?

Not necessarily. Carry forward is neutral. It simply means work is continuing. However, too many carried forward items might show a planning problem.

What is the noun form of carry forward?

The noun form is 'carryforward' or 'carry-forward.' Example: 'We have a lot of carryforward this sprint.' Some teams also say 'carryover.'

Carry Forward Meaning in Tech Teams | English for Developers

Commonness
Versatility
Formality	CasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ Written	SpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ Diplomatic	DirectDiplomaticNeutral
Region

Say it like this

✓We'll carry forward the remaining tickets to next sprint.

✓Let's carry these action items forward to the next meeting.

✓This bug wasn't fixed, so we're carrying it forward.

✓Can we carry this discussion forward to tomorrow's sync?

Real examples

Standup

"We didn't finish the API integration, so we'll carry it forward to today."

Slack message

"FYI, carrying forward the design review ticket since we ran out of time."

GitHub PR

"This refactor is too big for this PR. Let's carry forward the remaining changes to a follow-up."

Jira ticket

"Carrying forward to Sprint 24 due to blocked dependency."

Retrospective

"We carried forward three tickets this sprint. Let's discuss why."

Sprint planning

"We have five tickets carried forward from last sprint. Let's prioritize them first."

Pair programming

"Let's carry this refactoring idea forward and tackle it after we finish the feature."

Don't say this

✕Let's carry on the tickets to next sprint.

✓Let's carry forward the tickets to next sprint.— 'Carry on' means to continue doing something. 'Carry forward' means to move something to a later time.

✕We need to carry forward this ticket yesterday.

✓We carried forward this ticket from last sprint.— Carry forward refers to moving something to the future, not the past.

✕I will carry forward finishing my task.

✓I will carry forward my task to next sprint.— Carry forward takes a noun (the task), not a verb (finishing).

Other forms

base form

carry forward

"We need to carry forward these items."

present continuous

carrying forward

"We're carrying forward two tickets."

past tense

carried forward

"The task was carried forward to Sprint 12."

noun form

carryforward / carry-forward

"We have a lot of carryforward this sprint."

Often used with

carry forward ticketsMost common usage in agile teams.

carry forward action itemsUsed for meeting follow-ups.

carry forward to next sprintStandard phrasing for sprint planning.

carry forward from last weekDescribes where the item came from.

carry forward the discussionUsed when a topic needs more time.

Similar words

roll overVery similar meaning, slightly more casual.

push to next sprintMore direct, often implies the work was delayed.

deferMore formal, suggests a deliberate decision to postpone.

move to backlogImplies the work may not happen soon.

Opposites

close outcompletefinishdropremove from scope

Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Choose the most natural sentence

1. A team lead is explaining why a ticket is in the next sprint:

We carry forward this ticket because it was not done.We carried forward this ticket from last sprint.We carried this ticket forward to yesterday.

Complete the sentence

2. The bug fix wasn't completed, so we're _______ it _______ to Sprint 15.

Find the error

3. Let's carry on the remaining work to the next sprint.

carry on → carry forwardremaining → remainedNo error

Rewrite more naturally

4. This task will be moved to the next sprint because we did not finish it.

More words

Roll over Backlog Sprint Action item Defer Scope

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "carry forward" in a standup this week?

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