JQL Swimlanes not showing on Scrum Backlog Board

Question

I have modified my board settings to use JQL Queries for swimlanes and created queries based on Components, see attached.

However, I don't see these swimlanes when I switch the backlog.  I only see these swimlanes when I am in the Sprint. click here to see screen shots

Can you configure the backlog so that you can look at items in a way that makes sense during your planning?  If not, that seems really restrictive because the backlog can be very large and you might need to have a way managed reviewing issues.  Can you only way to group items in a backlog is through an Epic?  If so that seems to encourage some of the Epic Anti-Patterns discussed here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stories-vs-epics-components-modelling-product-jira-piotr/

I can think of lots of scenarios where you might have enhancements/user stories or defects in your backlog without them being assigned an Epic.  For example, a minor enhancement request to be able to switch between ASC and DESC sort order on a screen.

Am I doing something wrong in the setup and if not as anyone found a practical way of working around this without creating Epics that are basically equivalent to Components?

Bryan Robison · Accepted Answer

You could solve this by creating Quick Filters that align to the JQL queries you defined for your Swimlanes. That way you can control which objects you want to see on both the backlog and sprint views.

To answer your second question, you could create a Quick Filter with the following JQL to show only issues without an Epic Link:

project = BIA and "Epic Link" is EMPTY

miikhy · Accepted Answer

Hi Amy,

You're right: swimlanes are only available for the Sprint view. The backlog is filtered via Epics and versions. That being said, Quick Filters are available in both screens and if you build them properly, they can easily replace Swimlanes for planning (agrred it's not the most convenient for everybody).

Hope this helps!

Cheers