what is the difference between the type "Backlog item" and "User story" in active sprint

[Mayank Gupta]

Hello,

currently, we create backlogs in the form of epics, user stories or backlog (as type) in our product backlog. and during planning, we pull the user stories and BACKLOGS to active sprints. and after taking the backlogs (I mean tasks marked as type: Backlog item), we convert that manually to user story(currently don't know why).

so can anyone please suggest to me what are the standard practice and best guidelines to use a task as a Backlog item (I again mean Type as a Backlog item)?

and what is the difference between the user story and backlog item as type in JIRA ?

Thanks,

Mayank

[Frederik Vantroys]

Hi @Mayank Gupta ,

Backlog as a type of item is something you don't need.

You have to see the product backlog as a container (a status in the flow like to do, in progress, done) where all user stories, bugs, epics, ... are gathered.

During sprint planning the stories and bugs and tasks that you want to do are then moved from the backlog to the new sprint.

[Mayank Gupta]

Hi Frederik,

but currently, we have lots of Backlogs as types created in our Product backlogs, so should we delete all and create the same user stories?

you mentioned that Backlog as type of item is something we don't need ...but why? 

can you explain the use case for backlog as type?

[Frederik Vantroys]

Hi,

You certainly don't have to delete them, but you can in issues list all the item of the type "backlog item" and in bulk move them (change them) to user stories:

- Navigate to the Issue Navigator in Jira and filter and identify the specific issues you want to modify.

Select Issues: Once you have the search results showing the relevant issues, select the ones you want to change the issue type for. You can either use the checkboxes next to each issue or select all issues on the page by using the checkbox in the column header.

Initiate Bulk Change: After selecting the issues, click on the "Bulk Change" option. You can usually find it in the top-right corner of the issue navigator, represented by a set of three dots (...).

Choose "Edit Issues": From the bulk change options, select "Edit Issues" or any other similar option that allows you to modify the issue type.

Modify Issue Type: In the bulk edit wizard, you'll be presented with various fields that you can change. Look for the "Issue Type" field and select the new issue type you want to apply to the selected issues.

As I mentioned: a new user story of bug or task is considered a "backlog item" until it is moved to a sprint.

[Mayank Gupta]

so ideally we don't need to create anything as a "backlog item" in out product backlog right? we should always create a user story or task.

is my understanding is correct ?

[Frederik Vantroys]

Yes, that is correct.

You create a task. That task is in the product backlog. When during planning you move it to a sprint it remains a task but is no longer in the backlog.

When the task isn't resolved during the sprint it's also possible to move it back to the backlog (otherwise you would have to change it again from task to backlog item)

[Mayank Gupta]

thanks for the information Frederik,

but I am still curious and not able to convince myself why we need to have an issue Type "Backlog item"?