Backlog for objectives

A backlog is a prioritized list of work for the development team that is derived from the roadmap and its requirements. The most important items are shown at the top of the backlog so the team knows what to deliver first. The development team pulls work from the backlog as there is capacity for it.

You can manage and prioritize objectives in the objective backlog. The level of objectives that appear in the backlog depends on the selected portfolio, solution, program, or team.

Click a title of an objective to open a slide-out panel with more information about that work item.

Options

• State: A state of an objective’s development.
• ID: A unique ID for an objective.
• Name: A name of an objective.
• Owner: An owner of an objective. Click the round icon with the owners’ initials to view their title, system role, teams they belong to, and their roles in those teams.

Columns shown

The Columns Shown option offers to select which columns to display, providing some level of customization.

For the objective backlog, you can choose to view columns like Key Results Progress, Program Increment, Status, and Theme.

Additionally, you can select custom fields that you have created for objectives in Details Panels Settings. Only fields that are set as Active in Details Panels Settings are available for selection as columns in the backlog. 

Filter

With the available filtering options, you can filter objectives by PI and status.

Quick add

In the backlog, you can quickly add a new key result to your objectives.

To add a key result to an objective:

1. Select the arrow next to the objective to expand it.
2. In the New Key Result Description field, type a description for your key result.
3. Select the way you’d like to measure your key result: count, dollars, percent, or net promoter score (NPS).
4. In the Key Result Target box, enter the objective’s target result.
5. In the Key Result Baseline box, enter your target result.

Click Add. The key result is automatically prioritized at the bottom of the list and is assigned to the objective based on where it was added from.

Right-click menu options

For faster navigation in the backlog, right-click an objective to do the following:

• Open in new tab: Open the work item in the full-page view in a new tab.
• Move To Top: Move the work item to the top of the list the work item is contained in.
• Move To Bottom: Move the work item to the bottom of the list the work item is contained in.
• Move To Position: Select the place to move the work item to. It is useful when you have a long list and dragging the work item is not convenient.