Create and organize the product backlog

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Creating a backlog helps you define the work that needs to be done. Once you have a backlog, you can use it to help manage when that work gets done, as well as associate items on the backlog with check-ins, acceptance tests, or other criteria.

Create your backlog

  1. If your team doesn’t have one, set up your team project now. If you do have a team project, but you don’t have access to it, get invited to the team.

  2. Open the backlog page from Team Web Access or Team Explorer. For example, the Fabrikam, Inc. team navigates to http://fabrikamprime:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection/Fabrikam%20Fiber%20Website/_backlogs.

    Tip

    If you don't see a link to the backlog page, you don’t have full access. Either get it, or create your backlog in the work items page or from the team home page.

    Open your team's backlog page

  3. Enter a title and add an item.

    Add an item to your product backlog

  4. Highlight an item in the list, and then add another item. The green line indicates where the new item will be added.

    The green line shows where the item will go.

  5. Move items in the list to change their priority.

    Reorder items in the list to show priority.The numbering changes to reflect the order.

  6. You can make an item the child of another item. For example, move item 3 onto item 1 and it becomes a child of item 1.

    Change hierarchy by making one item a child.

    The green box helps you see when you're making an item a child of another item, and the line helps you understand where you're putting the item when you drop it.

    The child item is indented from the parent.

  7. If you estimate your work, open a backlog item and provide an estimate of the effort required to complete it.

    You can provide an estimate of work.

    Estimates can be expressed in any numerical measurement, such as story points, hours, or days. If you decide to work in sprints, you can use estimates for forecasting. Want to learn more about estimating? You can read more about it in this whitepaper.

    Here's an example of an organized backlog.

    This backlog is organized in priority order.

Try this next

You can start working directly from the backlog.

Or, dig deeper