This how-to article will help users to manage card walls on projects they manage in Work Management. The user must have access to Work Management and the specific Project application, and be a manager of a project.
Overview
The Backlog Manager gives a summary view of cards in different card walls. It also provides aggregated details on the resources involved in the included projects and the time allocated. A project manager can choose which projects appear in the Backlog Manager, and then drag task cards to and from the backlog. New cards can be added directly to the backlog list. Cards can also be dragged between card wall plans. The Backlog Manager also allows assigning resources to cards with a drag-and-drop interface.
Adding Card Walls to the Backlog Manager
To add card walls to the Backlog Manager:
- In Work Management, navigate to View Applications, and select the appropriate Project application.
- From the left navigation, click Backlog Manager.
- Click Add Card Wall in the toolbar.
- In the Add Card Walls to Backlog window, click the checkboxes for the card wall(s) that you want to include in your backlog or sprint.
- Click the +Add button.
- Drag and drop the card walls into the desired order.
Card walls can be arranged in any order you choose at any time. This helps managers better visualize which tasks are active on card wall plans and allows for quick movement of tasks between plans if necessary.
You can bookmark the page using your browser’s bookmarking function to automatically load that set of card walls next time you use the Backlog Manager.
Using the Backlog Manager
Viewing the Card Wall in the Backlog Manager
When a card wall is added to the backlog manager, it has a unique layout.
The card wall features are labeled here:
- Project Name – Click this to open the project in a new tab.
- Card Wall Name – Click this to open the card wall in a new tab.
- Remove Button – Click the X to remove this card wall from the Backlog Manager.
- Wall Card Count – The total number of cards in this card wall.
- Title Bar - Click anywhere in the title bar to collapse the card wall. Drag and drop it to rearrange the order of the card walls.
- Hours & Points – The estimated hours and total story points for all cards in this card wall will appear in the right corner of the title bar.
- Collapse Icon - Click the small black triangle to collapse one of the lists in the card wall.
- List Title – The title of the list as it appears in the card wall.
- Add Card Button - Click the + to add a card to this list or convert a ticket to a card.
- List Card Count – The total number of cards in the list.
- List Bar - Click in the whitespace to drag lists and rearrange them within a card wall. A list cannot move to another card wall.
- Cards List – All the cards currently in this list, in the same order as they appear in the card wall.
If there are no cards in the list, the text "Drop cards here to assign them to this list" will show.
Viewing Cards
Each list in the card wall can include 0 or more cards, which will display as follows:
- Card Color.
- Priority.
- Subtask indicator – Clicking this will open the card to the Subtasks tab.
- Title – Clicking this will open the card to the Details tab.
- Tags.
- Responsible resource(s).
- Estimated hours.
- Percent Complete.
- Story Points.
Cards can be moved around the backlog manager by dragging them between lists, either within the same card wall or across multiple card walls. You can also move them using the arrow buttons at the top of the page.
Resources Sidebar
Tucked against the right margin of the page is the Resources sidebar, which allows you to view available resources and assign them to cards as needed. Each resource tile in the sidebar includes the resource's total assigned cards, estimated hours, and story points. Click the Calendar icon for each resource to view the resource's schedule report.
Once open, you can click a card to highlight its resources, or click a resource to highlight their cards. You can also drag a resource tile onto a card to assign the resource, according to the assignment options at the top of the sidebar.
Totals Sidebar
The Totals sidebar is also found in the right-hand side margin of the page. Click the Totals button to expand the sidebar. The totals are summarized for each card wall in the Backlog Manager. This sidebar is also included in the card wall view, where it summarizes by list. The sidebar only includes cards in active lists.
Backlog Manager Security Role Permissions
To access the Backlog Manager, a user must be a Resource, Manager, or Alternate Manager on a project with a card wall plan, and their Project application security role includes all of the following permissions:
- Edit Plans
- Add Tasks
- Delete Tasks
- Edit Tasks