Create the Backlog with Team Web Access
Our tutorial continues with Annie, the Fabrikam team's product owner. Until recently, the team has managed its backlog using Excel. Now they want to manage that information in Visual Studio. To make this change, Annie creates product backlog items by using the team's product backlog page in Team Web Access.
Requirements
- Some features might not be available depending on your permissions or edition of Team Foundation Server. See Features Accessed Through Web Permissions.
In this topic
1. Create Items in the Backlog
Julia, a developer on the Fabrikam team, sends Annie email to tell her that she can create the product backlog for the project in TFS. Annie opens the team project page (http://almsvr:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection/FabrikamFiber), goes to the product backlog page, and creates a backlog items for the team's backlog items that are currently in Excel.
To create an item in the backlog
Note
If you're using the Visual Studio Scrum process template, you create a product backlog item to describe a user requirement or a part of the project you plan to deliver. If you're using MSF for Agile Software Development, you create a user story. If you're using MSF for CMMI Process Improvement, you create a requirement.
.png "Create Items in the Backlog")
On the home page, under ACTIVITIES, choose View backlog.
Enter the title for the backlog item and choose the Enter key.
To change the priority of an item in the backlog
.png "Drag the item to change its priority")
- On contents, drag the item to the correct position in the list.
2. Estimate the Effort and Business Value of Each Item
To get an early estimate of how much work each backlog item might need, Annie held a planning-poker session with the team. Annie also talked with customers and technicians to assess the business value of each item. Now, Annie will enter these values for each backlog item.
To record the estimated effort and business values
.png "Estimate the Effort and Business Value")
Double-click the backlog item. (Keyboard: Highlight the backlog item and choose the Enter key.)
Specify the amount of effort, the business value, or both. When you finish, save and close the item.
Note
The information that Annie collects helps the team prioritize its work. Your team might use a slightly different approach. For example, your team can create user stories, for example, by using MSF for Agile Software Development, to track story points and risk. If your team uses a different approach, you can customize the work item definition so your team can capture the information it needs.
Related Topics in this Tutorial
Next (Plan the Iteration) | Home
Tip
Because the backlog is in Excel, Annie could have created a list and attach it to the FabrikamFiber team project. Then, she could have copied the backlog items and their effort and business-value estimates from the existing worksheet into the list, and published the results. See Connecting an Office Document to a Team Project.
See Also
Other Resources
Process Guidance and Process Templates for Team Foundation Server
Visual Studio ALM Rangers Solutions and Projects
Technical Articles for Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management