What this screen is for
The backlog is the ordered queue of work that has not been started. Each row is a story, and expanding it reveals the work items beneath it. Columns show the order number, the type, the title, the iteration (or the project, when the backlog spans several), the story points, the priority and the assignee. Dragging a story changes its position in the order.
Controls at the head of the list expand or collapse every story at once and report how many are open. A project picker and a type filter sit in the toolbar, alongside a view switcher that moves to the board, the list or the calendar.
When to use it
Use it when planning: to rank what matters most, to see how much is estimated, and to decide what goes into the next sprint.
What you see on this screen
- Order — the position in the queue; dragging a story changes it.
- Type — a pill with the work item's type.
- Title — the reference and title, with a done-out-of-total badge and a progress bar for the story's children.
- Iteration — the time box the story is planned into. With no project chosen the same column becomes Project instead, so you can see where each story belongs.
- Points — the story point estimate.
- Priority — urgent, high, medium or low.
- Assignee — who holds it, or a dash.
Expanding a story reveals its child items on the same seven columns, indented, and a row at the foot for adding a Task or a Bug directly beneath it. Work that belongs to no story is gathered under an Ungrouped Work Items heading.
Filters and actions
Two controls narrow the list: a project picker, which defaults to all projects, and a type filter. Above the header row, the plus and minus buttons expand or collapse every story at once and a counter says how many are open.
New creates an item and stays disabled until a project is chosen, since a backlog item has to belong to one. The view switcher moves to the Board, List or Calendar.
Related
- User Stories — the stories themselves, with their detail
- Sprints — the time boxes you pull backlog items into
- Boards — work already in flight