Kanban + Backlog Setup - is there no automation available on Backlog status?

[brian.ross]

Our board has a "Ready" status and that is also the status I used when adding the Backlog mapping. I think I need to walk this back because I'd like to be able to have Ready and Backlog be separate things, and when change the status of something in the Backlog to Ready I'd like it to move out of the Backlog and onto the Board.

Is this doable and how would I go about this with the least amount of pain? Is it possible to remap the Status for Backlog items?

It seems like the Backlog with Kanban is a strange beast - I'd like a way to ensure (with automation) that no issues In Progress or Ready stay in the Backlog, but this type of Backlog seems to be missing from the automation triggers and filters. 

[Petter Gonçalves]

Hello @brian.ross

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Per your description, I understand that you are trying to configure your board in a way that you have a "Backlog status" in the backlog view and "Ready" status in the first column of your kanban board, where you would move your issues when they are ready to be worked on. Is that correct?

Can you confirm if you are using a Classic or Next-gen Project?

If you are using a Classic Kanban project, the scenario you are looking for is the default plan of Kanban boards in Jira. To achieve it, you must do the following steps:

1 - First, you must configure your workflow with both status "Backlog" and "Ready", in a way that the backlog status is the first status of the issues created. You can do it by navigating to your project > project Settings > Workflows and click to Edit workflows:

Working with workflows 

2 - Once your workflow is configured, you must map the correct status to each view and board column. To do it, Navigate to your board > ... > Board settings > Columns:

Map the backlog status in the backlog column so it will be the only status displayed in the backlog view. Additionally, map the other statuses to their respective columns:

3 - If you have issues in the "Ready" status that are not ready to be worked on and must be moved back to "Backlog", you can use the bulk operation option to do it, as explained in the documentation below:

Edit multiple issues at the same time 

Let us know if you have any questions.

[brian.ross]

Hi @Petter Gonçalves, thank you for the thorough response. We are using a Next Gen project. When I go to Project Settings, I do not see Workflows. 

To clarify what occurs now that is undesirable: I am in the backlog on an issue that is in "Ready" status and I move it to "In Progress." It stays in the Backlog and the only way to move it out of the Backlog is a manual drag to the Board.

I'd like it to move to the Board with automation. I went looking for a way to do this, but the Status:Backlog is not in any of the states to create an automation for that transition. 

Is this because when I added the Backlog feature I used "Ready" as the status "mapped" in the Backlog? It was a step on the way to enabling the Backlog feature, but I was ignorant of the reason I needed a mapping.

Let me know if that helps! 

[Petter Gonçalves]

Hello @brian.ross

Thank you for the details provided.

Jira Next-gen projects do not have a field to differentiate backlog issues from board issues, so it is not possible to user automation rules or bulk operations in it.

The workaround options you could use would be:

1 - Turn on the Sprint functionality, so you will be able to identify issues that are in the backlog or in the Sprint, properly configuring an automation rule to add a sprint when the issue is transitioned to any status but "Ready"

2 - Use a Classic project, where the backlog view is mapped to a specific status.

Let us know if you have any questions.

[brian.ross]

@Petter Gonçalves thanks for the reply. Will Next Gen Backlogs ever get the ability to filter on them? I specifically do not want a Sprint in order to get this functionality. 

[Matt Johnson]

@Petter Gonçalves I'd also like to know if this is something that will happen?

Our challenge is the teams have a mix of operational and project work.  Having new issues drop directly into a large backlog means our ops issues get lost and makes the backlog useless to prioritize project work. The thought is that with the ability to automate, new issues could be automatically moved to the board for visibility with a Triage Epic.  Issues that are project related would be moved to the backlog at the time of triage and assigned to the right epic. I welcome any other suggestions for how to do this in a next gen project.

At the moment, I'm considering creating a brand new ops project and not co-mingling ops and project work in the same project. Or, going back to a classic project which feels like I'm moving backwards.

[Delta Development]

Same problem here, we need Backlog in Next-Gen automation to prevent that members start 'cherry picking' the fun-tasks and leave sh!t in the backlog for others.

Project-lead should hand out work packages.

[Delta Development]

And it always seems to end in a discussion like "you don't need a reverse on your car because you always drive TO a destination"