Project Backlog Board

The Backlog Board

The Backlog Board for a project can be found at /burndown/backlog/{project shortcode}.

There are links to the Backlog next to a project on the project listing page, as well as in the sidebar project navigation block.

The board is intended to be used to create, estimate and prioritise tasks, prior to sending them over to the Project Board, where their work status will be managed.

The board will look slightly different, depending on whether the project is set up for kanban or sprint-based projects.

Kanban Projects

Example of a kanban backlog

There are several key features of this board:

• The "Add a Task" button at the top of the page. This will direct you to a form for creating a new task.
• The list of tasks. These can be reordered using your mouse. The new order is saved automatically.
• Clicking the "Ticket ID" (i.e. "DOCU-17") will open up a modal editing window. You can also right-click and open the task editing form in a new tab.
• Each task has a number of columns containing information or action links:
  • The priority: This is the "bar chart" icon on the left. The number of filled in columns indicates the priority level of the task.
  • The ticket id: This is a unique identifier for a task; the numbers go up from 1 per project.
  • The title of the task.
  • Label(s): These can help classify tasks. The labels come from the "Tag" taxonomy.
  • The estimate of the task size: Depending on the estimation style that you have set in the project, this could be a geometric value (i.e. "0.5"), a t-shirt size (as shown above), or a dot size (from zero to 5 dots).
  • Edit button. This also opens up the modal editing form.
  • Send task to the board button: This is only shown for kanban projects. It will make the task appear on the "To Do" column of the main project board. It will then vanish from the backlog.
  • Close task button: This will open up a modal form that will allow you to set the task's resolution status. This also appears on the project board.

 Sprint Projects

Sprint-based projects have some additional features to allow you to set up sprints, assign tasks to them, as well as open or close them.

Example of a sprint backlog

Some of the key features of a sprint-based board are:

• Add task button: This works the same way as for a kanban board. Regardless of whether there are sprints or not, the new task will appear in the backlog section, above.
• Add sprint task: This allows you to create a new sprint. You can have any number of sprints, but only one can be open at a time.
• Drag-and-drop: You can reorder tasks, or move them between sprints and the backlog with your mouse. The new ordering will be saved automatically.
• The sprint section: For an unopened sprint, if there are no currently opened sprints already in progress, a link will show on the right of the title back that will allow you to open the sprint. An opened sprint's tasks will be shown on the Project Board. When a sprint has been opened, it will show a green "Open" label, a count of the number of assigned tasks, and a link to close the sprint. Closed sprints will no longer be visible in the backlog, and can be viewed (along with their closed tasks) in the Completed Tasks Board.
• Tasks are managed identically to the kanban board, with the exception that the "Sent to Board" link does not appear.