Backlog REVIEW

Backlog is a project management software exclusively designed for all the teams involved in software development: Development, Marketing, Design, IT and Production. It is a cloud-hosted platform with an on-premise option.

As an all-in-one project management solution, Backlog aims to improve collaboration, coordination, and communication between developers and non-technical team members by taking care of the essential aspects—tracking of projects, issue monitoring, and task management.  It enables users to organize tasks in one place and assign them to other teams.

Tracking the overall progress of a project across teams and sending of feedback are also made easier. Gantt, Burndown charts, and Git not only offer greater visibility of the projects but also improve productivity with Gantt and Burndown automatically generating progress reports that have all the details necessary to keep project managers on top of ongoing projects. With Git also included, development team members can create their own repositories on the Backlog system.

Furthermore, Backlog allows development teams to easily track issues or bugs with each report being automatically directed to team members assigned and equipped to handle a specific issue. Development team members will be able to collaborate to resolve bugs with the ability to comment within each issue, of which the team members involved will be notified automatically. Collaboration is also promoted by the software when it comes to reviewing and improving a code. Developers will be able to propose changes to a code and initiate a discussion on its new features with their colleagues. Backlog is also equipped with tools that help users organize and share project details, as well as, facilitate project planning.

While tracking the progress of a project is one of the primary features of Backlog, it also hosts other features and functions that you can utilize to your full advantage:

Task Management

Keep an organized project workflow by creating task hierarchy. The project tracking software not only has the capability of splitting up projects into main tasks but also creating subtasks within a project. Subtasks can be divided among team members and create checklists to keep track of start and due dates, progress status and other updates, project milestones, categories, and other custom fields.

As an example, if the teams are working on a task about creating an updated budget planner feature for a website, this task can be split into subtasks. Thus, a member of the design team will be in charge of creating the new User Interface design (UI) for the budget planner feature. A development team member will implement and test the UI design, and the subtask for a marketing team member can be the writing of release blog and email for such a feature.

As subtasks are assigned to team members, users can easily track the progress of their entire project. They can set deadlines and notify the team members for any updates on their tasks. Through the aid of  Gantt Charts, users will be able to see the statuses of the tasks and task owners, all in one place.

Gantt and Burndown Charts

Take full advantage of Gantt and Burndown charts for tracking projects with details including completion dates, ongoing tasks, and assigned team members readily available and reports from both charts automatically generated. Project managers also have the authority to update due dates, assignees, and other project details from Gantt charts.

Git 

Development team members can create their own repositories on Backlog using Git.

Role-Based Access

Manage users by allowing different access levels based on the role of a user in a project, as well as create teams.

Quick and Organized Issue-Reporting

Users can report issues by using web forms or setting up a unique email address for this function. Once a report is sent, a ticket will be automatically created and assigned to team members dedicated to handle the issue being reported.

Knowledge Sharing

Backlog allows you to create wikis that are accessible to team members. These wikis can serve as collaborative tools as users can utilize them to share information and organize project details. Wikis can be edited and downloaded by team members. When there are changes made to wikis and if new project details are added,  notifications will be sent to the team members involved.

Backlog also allows users to collaborate on their codes. They can easily track all the changes made to their code and review them. Users can add comments in line with a code, inviting discussions among team members. Hence, they will be able to optimize their code and release high-quality software.

File Sharing

Keep your project files in one location and easily attach them to comments for the assigned team members to access. There is also the option of uploading project files to folders specifically created for a team, project, issue, etc.

Jira and Redmine Importer

Migrate your data from Jira or Redmine with Backlog’s step-by-step instructions on how to successfully do so.

Accessibility

Although primarily web-based software, Backlog can be downloaded as a mobile application compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Backlog’s mobile application not only allows you to access, create, and update tasks, it also automatically syncs with your web-based workspace. And if your team would like to have more security control, this software is also available on-premise.

Security

Keep vital information protected by setting up IP restrictions to manage and monitor workspace access.

Cost-Effective

Backlog offers a selection of plans including a free version for single projects and self-hosted enterprise plan. The rest of the plans can offer hosting for unlimited projects with unlimited storage and a 30-day free trial period and option of monthly or annual payment scheme.

Problem #1: Confusion and miscommunication among team members.

Solution: Get everyone on the same page with better communication. Companies can manage all their projects in one single place that is accessible to everyone within the organization. Everyone can have access to the most updated information on the status of a project. Using Backlog also drastically reduces the number of emails and instances of missed emails.

Problem #2: Meeting project and task deadlines.

Solution: Users improve their workflow and stay on track with the project’s deadlines. Clear due dates and progress tracking assist with better managing tasks.

Problem #3: Central storage of critical information.

Solution: All information pertaining to projects can be stored in the wiki or the relevant tickets. These can include images, videos, and links. For example, documents are often updated and the team will always have easy access to the most updated version and previous versions.

Backlog offers several SMB and enterprise pricing plans for users to choose from:

Backlog Free Plan –$0/month

• Free Forever
• Up to 10 Users
• 1 Project
• 100 MB Total Storage

Backlog Starter Plan – $20/month or $200/year

• Up to 30 Users
• 5 Projects
• 1 GB Total Storage

Backlog Standard Plan – $100/month or $1,000/year

• Unlimited Users
• 100 Projects
• 30 GB Total Storage

Backlog Premium Plan – $175/month or $1,750/year

• Unlimited Users
• Unlimited Projects
• 100 GB Total Storage

Backlog Enterprise Plan –$1,200 to $8,500/year

• 20 to 300 users
• Unlimited projects
• Unlimited storage