Questions about best practices in managing boards

[Lara Cristina de Sousa]

I have some questions about best practices in managing boards:

1- If I started a task (it is in progress), but it was deprioritized because another activity has a higher priority, is it correct to return the task to the backlog or put it on block?

I usually move to blocked only tasks that have some impediment not related to prioritization.

2- If I start a task from an epic, consequently the epic is also started and moved to "in progress", right?
Also, should the epic card on the board count when counting WIPs?

3- If I complete half of an epic's tasks, but the other half will be in the backlog for a while, what ideal status should I consider for the epic? Should I also move it to backlog?

[Dave Liao]

@Lara Cristina de Sousa - hi Lara Cristina!

1. It depends! 🙂 If someone is not actively working on a Task, changing the Task's status to a "To Do" type of status is best. What does it mean for your team if a Task is deprioritized? If it means "stop working on this until we actively re-prioritize it" then yes, move the Task to the backlog.
2. Generally, yes! Consider having a Jira Automation rule automatically change an Epic's status if any of its children change their status. (And I wouldn't include the Epic as part of a WIP, only the Epic's children.)
3. This depends on your team/company. It's good to know if work has begun on an Epic. You should have a business process that determines when you would shift an Epic back to a "To Do" type of status.