Manual copying of items from Product Backlog (PBL) to Sprint Backlog (SBL) boards during sprint planning creates inefficiencies and potential for errors. This guide demonstrates how to automate this process using monday.com's built-in automation features.
This implementation eliminates manual copy-paste workflows and reduces sprint planning overhead.
Solution Overview
This automation leverages monday.com's standard automation features to eliminate manual processes. Using built-in functionality ensures reliability and reduces dependency on external tools.
The implementation involves four key steps:
- Configure necessary columns on the PBL board
- Set up corresponding columns on the SBL board
- Create automation triggers and actions
- Test and validate the workflow
PBL Board Configuration
Required Columns
- SP: Story Points (Numbers column type)
- Acceptance Criteria: Acceptance criteria documentation (monday doc type)
- AC link: Link to acceptance criteria (Link column type)
Important Limitation
Monday.com's automation cannot directly copy monday doc column types. To work around this limitation, use a Link column to store references to the acceptance criteria documents. This approach maintains traceability while enabling automation compatibility.
The AC link column serves as a bridge, allowing teams to access detailed acceptance criteria from the SBL board.
âAdditional option (new finding): If your goal is to show the source values on the SBL item without duplicating them, you can add a Connect boards column on the SBL board that links to the corresponding PBL item, and then add Mirror columns that reference that connection. With this setup, both the Acceptance Criteria (monday doc) and SP can be displayed on the SBL item, while keeping the PBL item as the single source of truth. Importantly, mirrored fields can be edited from the SBL side and those changes will sync back to the source fields on the PBL item. This does not remove the platform limitationâautomation still cannot copy a monday docâbut mirroring avoids duplication and maintains live synchronization across boards.
SBL Board Configuration
The SBL board requires corresponding columns to receive data from the PBL board automation.
Required Columns
- SP: Story Points (Numbers column type)
- AC link: Acceptance Criteria links (Link column type)
Best Practice
Use identical column names between PBL and SBL boards. This naming consistency simplifies automation configuration and reduces setup errors.
Automation Configuration
Trigger Setup
Create a Status column named "SBL Action" on the PBL board with an option "Add to SBL." Configure the automation to trigger when this status changes to "Add to SBL."
This trigger method provides controlled execution, ensuring only explicitly selected items are processed and preventing accidental bulk operations.
Action Configuration
Configure the automation to create new items in the SBL board with the following data mapping:
- Item Name: Copy the subitem name
- SP: Transfer Story Points value
- AC link: Copy Acceptance Criteria link
This configuration ensures all critical sprint planning information transfers accurately to the SBL board.
Testing and Validation
Test Procedure
- Select a test item on the PBL board and change "SBL Action" to "Add to SBL"
- Verify that the item appears correctly on the SBL board with all mapped data
Conclusion
This automation solution transforms a manual, error-prone process into an efficient, one-click operation. The implementation demonstrates how monday.com's standard features can address common workflow challenges without requiring external tools or custom development.
Organizations experiencing similar inefficiencies in their sprint planning process should consider implementing this automation pattern. The solution provides immediate productivity gains while maintaining data integrity and process consistency.
Scalability Considerations
This automation pattern can be extended to other board combinations and workflow scenarios. Teams should evaluate their manual processes for similar automation opportunities to maximize platform value and operational efficiency.