Manage the backlog
The backlog is where work goes that isn't on the board yet — captured ideas, future tickets, anything not actively being worked on. A task in Planix lives in the backlog when it has no column assignment. The board is the pull view; the backlog is the yet-to-pull view. Bringing a task from backlog to board is the same drag-and-drop action used to move cards across columns.
Goal
By the end you will have added a task to the backlog, reordered the backlog so the top of the list is the next thing to pull, and dragged the top item onto the kanban board.
Prerequisites
- A project in Planix you are a member of (see Create your first project).
- At least one column on the project's board (the default four are fine).
Steps
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From the project board, click View Backlog in the header. The backlog list opens — every task in this project that has no column assignment, ordered by backlog position (a Planix-managed integer index).
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Add a task directly to the backlog. Click + Add to backlog. The same task form opens as on the board, except no column is preselected. Fill in title, priority, optional assignee / due date / labels. Save.
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Reorder the backlog. Drag the task you just added to the top — Planix updates its backlog-position. The convention: the top of the list is the next thing to pull onto the board. Treat the backlog as an ordered intake, not a bag.
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Pull a task onto the board. Open the task detail and set its Column field (or, more commonly, drag the task from the backlog into a column on the board). The task moves: it disappears from the backlog list, appears on the chosen column, the column's task-count ticks up.
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To send a task back to the backlog (you over-committed; the work isn't ready), clear its Column field on the task detail. The card disappears from the board, lands at the bottom of the backlog (reorder it to put it back in priority order).
Verification
The backlog list shows tasks without a column, in the order you arranged them. The board count for a column matches the number of cards that column holds. Moving a task between backlog and board is reversible — you can shuffle work freely as the team's capacity changes.
Common issues
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Backlog is empty when you expect tasks | The tasks all have column assignments — they're on the board. Use the kanban board view instead. |
| Backlog reorder doesn't stick | Drag was on the wrong handle; drag from the task title row, not from a label/avatar chip. |
| Card pulled onto the board doesn't appear | A board filter is active; clear filters and the card shows. |
| Two members reorder simultaneously and the order is unexpected | Last-write wins on the backlog-position field; refresh and reorder, no merge. |
| Screenshots may be missing | App not yet installed in the test environment; rerun npm run test:e2e:docs once it is. |
Reference
- Work with the kanban board — what happens on the receiving end.
- Add and manage tasks — task fields and the lifecycle.
- Your dashboard and My Work — assigned tasks across all projects regardless of board/backlog.
- Kanban board reference — column / backlog model.