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# Build the backlog

The first step in the development process is building and prioritizing the backlog. Use the Backlog module to achieve this.

In this topic:

## Create the backlog

You can create a backlog either by entering items in the user interface, or by importing items from an Excel spreadsheet.

Follow the procedure below to create backlog items in the user interface. For details on importing a backlog from Excel, see Import from Excel.

To create a backlog item:

1. Open the global menu and select Agile Delivery > Backlog.

2. Select either the Epics, Features, or Backlog Items tab.

3. Click Add and select the item that you want to create: epic, feature, user story, or quality story.

   A shared space admin can also create shared epics. For details, see Epics.

4. Set the available fields.

   Tip: Click the Customize fields button to add or remove fields from the form. For details, see Forms and templates.

5. (Optional) Use the autofill feature to populate new backlog items with sets of predefined values. For details, see Fill in fields automatically.

6. Assign the epic to a Milestone.

   By default, only cross-release milestones can be assigned to epics. To allow assigning also release-specific milestones, configure the EPIC_SUPPORT_RELEASE_SPECIFIC_MILESTONES parameter. For details, see Configuration parameters.

7. Assign the work item to a Team.

   If the work item is assigned to an Application Module, the three teams with the highest expertise in the application module are listed at the top of the Teams list.

8. (Optional) Create tasks for a user story in the Tasks to generate field. For details, see Work on backlog items.

9. (Optional) Change a backlog item's parent. Do one of the following:

   - Drag the item to a different node in the tree.
   - Edit the item's Feature or Epic field.

   Note: Stories that are not associated with a feature, and features that are not associated with a epic, are children of the root Backlog node. To view these items in the grid, select the root Backlog node, and open the User Stories or Features grid.

## Assign test coverage to backlog items

You can track the quality of features and stories by analyzing the status of the tests covering the items. One test can cover many backlog items, and one backlog item can be covered by many tests. You can link a test to a backlog item or link a backlog item to a test.

### Link a backlog item to a test

You can define test coverage for an item in either the Relations or Tests tab.

Do one of the following:

- Select the backlog item's Relations tab, and add tests as related items. For details, see Related items.

- In the backlog item's Tests tab, and link to existing or new tests.

The covering tests are displayed in the backlog item's Test Coverage field.

Tip:

- You can filter features and stories by test coverage by filtering the Covering tests field for the value Is empty or Not empty.

- You can create test coverage also by linking a test to backlog items. For details, see Manual testing.

## Set ranking with WSJF attributes

The Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) formula helps you determine epic and feature priorities. It uses parameters and a calculated measurement to determine a WSJF score for an item.

In the feature or epic details, set the following field values.

Field | Value
--- | ---
Business Value | The item's value to customers or the business. For example, how the epic or feature affects revenue.
Time Criticality | The urgency to deliver the epic or feature.
RR | OE | The epic or feature's value in eliminating risks or creating new opportunities.
Cost of delay | The difference between an epic or a feature being available now or later. The Cost of Delay is the sum of the above components: Cost of Delay = Business Value + Time Criticality + RR | OE
Job size | The estimated length of time needed to finish the epic or feature. You measure this using your own unit, for example: hours or story points.
WSJF Score | The ratio of the cost of delay and the job size. The higher the WSJF score, the higher the priority of the epic or feature. WSJF Score = Cost of Delay / Job Size OR WSJF Score = (Business Value + Time Criticality + RR | OE)/Job Size

For the WSJF fields: Business Value, Time Criticality, and RR | OE, select a value from the list. For the Job Size measurement, enter any integer value.

## Create dependencies

Dependencies are relationships between activities that determine the order in which the activities need to be performed.

For details on adding dependencies, see Related items.

## Track aged backlog items

You can track backlog items that remained in the same phase for an extended period of time. This tracking indicates which backlog items were not handled for an extended period of time, or that got stuck in a certain phase. This can reveal bottlenecks and wasted time in the development process.

To track these items, use the Days in phase read-only field, which shows the number of days that the backlog item remained in the same phase. You can add it into a grid as a column, use it in a filter, and sort the entities by this value.

You can also specify the Days in phase in dashboard graphs. For example, if you only want to show defects that had a phase age of 60 days or more, add a Days in phase filter and specify Greater than 60. For details, see Add and configure widgets.

Note: The Days in phase field counts all calendar days, not only working days.

## Next steps

- Execute a release
- Create and run tests
- Update items
- Pipelines
- Quality

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