Tools that integrate user story mapping with sprint planning

TL;DR

• The most effective tools connect user story mapping directly to backlog management and sprint planning rather than treating mapping as a separate workshop.
• Standalone story mapping tools are good for discovery but usually require manual syncing with Jira for delivery.
• Easy Agile TeamRhythm integrates user story mapping with backlog refinement, sprint planning, estimation and retrospectives in Jira.

Why integration between story mapping and sprint planning matters

User story mapping helps teams understand customer journeys and break them into deliverable pieces. Sprint planning ensures teams pick the right pieces to deliver next.

If these activities happen in different tools, you risk:

• Losing the connection between journey and sprint goals.
• Spending time copying stories between tools.
• Confusing stakeholders about what has actually been committed.

A tool that integrates story mapping and sprint planning avoids these pitfalls.

Standalone story mapping tools

Standalone tools such as StoriesOnBoard, Avion or whiteboard tools can create rich story maps. They are useful during discovery but often:

• Maintain their own backlog separate from Jira.
• Require integration work or manual syncing.
• Do not reflect the current sprint plan automatically.

For teams whose primary delivery tool is Jira, this can create unnecessary overhead.

Story mapping and sprint planning in Jira with Easy Agile TeamRhythm

Easy Agile TeamRhythm is a Jira app that brings story mapping and sprint planning together.

It provides:

• A story map view where you can arrange epics and stories by journey or activity.
• Backlog refinement tools to prioritise work directly from the map.
• Sprint planning views to move stories into sprints while keeping the journey context visible.
• Planning poker and retrospectives to support a full team rhythm.

All of this runs on Jira issues, so there is no separate backlog.