Tips for Working With Backlogs

Setting Backlog Time Frames

Each backlog view has start and end dates that are used to calculation completion rates. Start and end dates can correlate to an Agile sprint, product release, or any time-bound project that needs to be managed.

You can also create a backlog that does not have an end date; this enables you to manage work items in ongoing projects or for projects where the end date is not yet known. You can edit the backlog view to add an end date at any time, but once and end date is specified, the start and end dates cannot be changed.

The start and end dates for each backlog view are shown at the top of the Progress Reports page.

Working with Estimates and Actuals

Estimates and actuals help you understand the size and effort of individual work items. Estimates are used to calculate work units for each item in your backlog, and actuals are shown with each item on the backlog list. You can select any Single Selection or Numeric field in an application when you create backlog feeds based on that application.

If your backlog view will contain multiple backlog feeds, make sure to use the same or similar fields for the Estimates and Actuals settings for each feed. This will ensure more accurate calculations for progress reports.

If you do not want to track work units, do not select fields for the Estimates and Actuals settings. In this case, progress report calculations are based on work item totals.

For information on which fields are configured to work with backlogs, contact your administrator.