Backlog Box in Workload Charts
Backlog Box is an essential part of Workload charts. It contains tasks that need to be allocated to users. Each Workload chart has its own Backlog Box that you can reconfigure at any time.
You can use Backlog Box to define the scope of future workload for your team members. For example:
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If you use request forms, build a Backlog Box based on a folder, project, or space containing your team’s incoming requests.
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When launching a new project, you can duplicate a template and use that newly created project as the source for your Backlog Box, from which to allocate tasks to your team members.
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At least one of the following must be true for a task to appear in the Backlog Box:
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A task is not scheduled.
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A task is unassigned to users. But tasks assigned to users might still appear in the Box if they are also assigned to at least one job role.
This page is an overview of the Backlog Box feature, which is a part of Workload charts. To learn about Workload charts, please visit the Workload Charts in Wrike page.
There are two ways you can display the Backlog Box:
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Vertically
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The box appears on the right side of the view.
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The vertical Backlog Box contains tasks that are either unassigned to users or unscheduled.
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Tasks are automatically grouped according to their dates.
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Horizontally
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The box appears at the bottom of the view.
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The horizontal Backlog Box only displays tasks that are both scheduled and unassigned to users.
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Tasks are automatically grouped according to the job role that they’re assigned to and the project that they’re in.
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Horizontal Backlog Box is not available if you view the chart in Projects mode.
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Note
Both vertical and horizontal Backlog Box views automatically calculate the number of tasks in the Box and display it next to the Box title. Task count across the two views might be different because the horizontal Box doesn’t display unscheduled tasks.
To switch between a vertical and horizontal view of the Backlog Box, click the icon at the top of the Box.
Tip
For tasks that are assigned to a job role and have allocated effort, use the horizontal view of the Backlog Box to see the effort on the grid before assigning the tasks to users.
The horizontal Backlog Box can help you compare the available resources of your users on the chart with the demand in the form of unassigned work within the Box. The Backlog Box will automatically calculate the available capacity of all users with a certain job role contained within the chart and then compare it to the demanded work of the respective job role.
These calculation and comparison results are color-coded to visualize the difference as follows:
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The job role's demand in the Backlog Box exceeds the total available capacity of all users with that job role on the chart - the cell is red.
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The demand is equal or under the available capacity - the cell is proportionately colored blue.
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The demand is 0 - the cell is white.
For example, there are two designers on your chart who work 8h/d, which makes it 16h/d total. Each of them has 5h already allocated for the day on the chart, so the total available effort left for the day is 3h each or 6h total. In Backlog Box, there are several tasks assigned to the "Designer" job role with the total required effort of 7h. So in the Box, the job role's cell for the day will be red, as it exceeds the total available effort of the two designers on the chart.
If you click on a job role's cell in the Backlog Box, you can see more detailed information on the calculation of demand (Requested effort) and user availability (Available effort).
You can choose to display the calculation results in all zoom levels: daily, weekly, or monthly. And you can select your preferred effort display option: hours (h), percentage (%), or full-time equivalent (FTE). Learn how to change these settings here.