# Backlog

Learn how to set up, review, organize, and prioritize work on the Backlog page before it moves into active Workflows.

## Overview

The **Backlog** page helps teams sort, review, and prioritize work before it moves into active Workflow states.

Use it to:

* Separate new or under-defined Stories from active work
* Review work before scheduling it
* Reorder upcoming work by priority
* Assign Stories to Teams, Workflows, and Iterations

## Set up the Backlog

The Backlog is powered by **Backlog Workflow States**. These states appear before **Unstarted** and control which Stories appear on the Backlog page.

**Admins** and **Owners** can add Backlog states to existing workflows from the Workflow States Settings page. You can also create a workflow dedicated to backlog intake and refinement.

### Recommended setup

The simplest setup is to keep Backlog states in the same workflow that the Story will eventually move through.

Benefits of this approach:

* Stories stay in one workflow
* Teams can drag and drop to reprioritize easily
* You can move a Story forward and add it to an Iteration from the same view
* Teams can signal whether work is unreviewed, being researched, or ready to plan

### Create a simple backlog process

Use a single Backlog State or multiple Backlog states to reflect how work moves from idea to planned work. 

* For example:
  * **Unreviewed**
  * **Reviewed**
  * **Needs Research**
  * **Ready to Plan**

Keep the state names simple. Shared language helps everyone understand what is ready and what still needs work.

## Add Stories to the Backlog

Create a Story and select a Backlog workflow state. Any Story in a Backlog state appears on the Backlog page. Workflow states for the Backlog appear in the **State** dropdown for all Stories.

## View and organize the Backlog

Use the Backlog page to search, filter, group, and reorder Stories.

To organize work:

* Drag and drop into a custom order -> use the dotted handle on the far left to enable manual sorting within the State groupings
* Assign owners
* Add labels
* Fill in Custom Fields
* Group Stories to review work by the dimension that matters most

## Best Practices

### Review the Backlog

Daily or frequent reviews work best to help it stay current and easy to prioritize. It also helps to assign one person or a small group to triage new work.

* Use workflow states for review to make the review status visible in the workflow state itself. This can make it easy to see which Stories still need attention. For example:
  * **Unreviewed** and **Reviewed**
  * **Unplanned** and **Planned**
* Use labels or custom fields for review. 
  * This gives you flexibility, but it usually requires more manual upkeep than updating the workflow state.
    * Use case could be one prefers simpler Backlog states and tracking reviews with a Label or Custom Field instead.
      * For example, create a **Reviewed** or **Unreviewed** label. Then sort or filter the page to find work that still needs triage.

### Schedule work from the Backlog

The Backlog page makes it easy to schedule Stories into upcoming Iterations or assign them to specific Teams and Workflows.

* For example:
  1. Filter by **Epic** to focus on the work you are planning
  2. Use **Group By > Iteration**
  3. Identify Stories that still need an Iteration
  4. Then:
     1. Update the **Iteration** column inline
     2. Or bulk edit multiple Stories at once
     3. Or right-click and use **Move to Current Iteration** or **Move to Next Iteration**

### Add priority

The **Priority** Custom Field is the clearest way to show what should be worked on next.

* Assign Priority during review. Then use **Group By > Priority** to scan upcoming work quickly.
  * Example use case: Bugs. Filter by Story Type and review bug priority separately from feature planning.