Kanban Board: Why is there a backlog step?

[Tara Lynne Collier]

This question is in reference to Atlassian Documentation: Using the Simplified Workflow

 Why is there a backlog step if the kanban board does not use the backlog board?

"Creating a board

You need a board so that you can view and work on issues in JIRA Software. A board displays issues from one or more projects. You can either copy a board that someone else has created, or create a new board for yourself. You can create as many boards as you like.

There are two types of boards:

• Scrum boards are for teams that plan their work in sprints.
• Kanban boards are for teams that focus on managing and constraining their work-in-progress. Because work is not planned in advance using discrete time periods or versions, Kanban boards do not have a Backlog screen."

https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftwarecloud/creating-a-board-764477949.html

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

They don't have a backlog Screen but they can have a backlog step.

The backlog is a general term for "the pile of stuff we haven't started to do yet".  So when a user creates a new issue, it's in the backlog.  That's often "new" or "open" in terms of status, and is also usually on the far left column on boards.  Doesn't really matter too much about the exact names - you should use your own language to describe it, but it's still just "stuff we haven't looked at yet"

A backlog in Scrum needs maintenance - estimates, ranking, and then moving into a sprint.  So there's a screen for it.
A backlog in Kanban needs nothing.  It's just one word that can be used to describe the far left-hand column on a Kanban board.

[Tara Lynne Collier]

thank you.