Manage team backlog in EAP

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Manage team backlog in EAP

    The Backlog page in Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) enables ServiceNow customers to create, update, prioritize, and schedule work items for Agile teams across various levels such as Agile Teams, Agile Release Trains (ARTs), Solution Trains, and Portfolios. This centralized page supports managing iterations like Planning Intervals (PI) and Sprints, facilitating efficient backlog grooming and work scheduling within the EAP workspace.

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    Layout and Grouping

    The Backlog page layout is consistent across team levels but groups work items differently according to the Agile hierarchy and team configuration:

    • Agile Team: Work items grouped by Sprints.
    • ART: Grouped by Planning Intervals.
    • Solution Train: Grouped by child ARTs.
    • Portfolio: Grouped by child Solution Trains.

    Items not fitting these groups appear in the general Backlog section. The default display limits iterations to six, adjustable by your administrator via system properties. For Kanban teams, grouping differs, with Portfolios grouping assigned work by child teams and Teams displaying assigned work as a list.

    Work Item Types and Visibility

    The Backlog displays work items based on the team’s configured default types, which vary by Agile level—ranging from Stories at the Agile Team level to Features, Capabilities, and Epics at higher levels. Users can change the displayed work item type to view or create different types assigned to a team. Work item details are accessible through a side panel or full details view.

    Note that only enabled work item types appear by default; administrators can update configurations to show additional types if needed.

    Data Filtering and Customization

    Column-level filtering allows quick location of specific work items using filters on choice, string, or reference-type columns. Users can personalize the Backlog view by selecting which columns to display and applying filters to focus on relevant data.

    Key Actions within the Backlog

    • Create and manage iterations such as Planning Intervals (PI) and Sprints.
    • Add new work items—including Stories, Features, Epics, and Capabilities—to team backlogs.
    • Break down parent work items into child items directly within the EAP workspace.
    • Copy existing work items to quickly create similar entries.
    • Schedule backlog work into iterations, reorder items to prioritize, and update item details inline.
    • Start and complete iterations to track team progress efficiently.
    • Add frequently used teams to Favorites for quicker workspace navigation.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    Using the EAP Backlog page, customers can streamline Agile planning by managing all team backlog activities in a single interface tailored to their Agile structure. It supports flexible work item management and scheduling, enabling better prioritization and visibility into work progress. The customization and filtering options help teams focus on their most relevant tasks, while iteration management features facilitate smooth sprint and PI execution.

    Using the Backlog page of Enterprise Agile Planning, create, update, and prioritize work items. Additionally, schedule work items into iterations such as Planning Intervals (PI) or Sprints.

    EAP Backlog.

    The following sections provide a brief overview of EAP Backlog and the actions that you can perform in it.

    Layout and default grouping

    The layout of Backlog across different team levels such as Agile Team, Agile Release Train (ART), Solution Train, or Portfolio, remains the same. The change is in the way that the work items are grouped. As you go bottom to top in an Agile structure, the work assigned to the teams is grouped as follows:

    Important:
    The team hierarchy and the iterations within teams are based on your EAP configuration. The following information applies to the default Full Configuration.
    • Agile Team: Grouped by Sprints.
    • ART: Grouped by Planning Intervals.
    • Solution Train: Grouped by child ARTs.
    • Portfolio: Grouped by child Solution Trains.
    Any work item that doesn't fall into any of these groups is displayed in the Backlog section.

    By default, the number of iterations that the Backlog page displays is set to 6. You can work with your admin to modify this number using a system property. For more information, see Configure the display limit of iterations in EAP Backlog.

    Layout and default grouping for Kanban teams

    The Backlog for teams using the Kanban configuration is grouped as follows:
    • Portfolio: Assigned work items are grouped by child teams. Any work item that is not assigned to the child teams is displayed in the Backlog section.

      Backlog view of EAP Kanban portfolio.

    • Team: Assigned work is displayed in a list.

    Default work items

    The work items shown in Backlog are of the Type that is mapped for this team in the configuration. As you move up in your Agile structure, the level of the work assigned also increases. At an Agile Team level, you see information of stories. As you move up through ARTs and Portfolios, you see information of Features, Capabilities, and Epics. However, at any level, you can change the type of the work items displayed.

    Work item mapping for an EAP team.

    For example, in the screenshot, Capability is the default item type mapped to Compliance and onboarding tech Solution Train based on its configuration. You can change this selection to see work of other types assigned to this team. When this selection is changed to Feature, you can see all the features assigned to this ART. Similarly, you can choose to create and assign a different type of work item for this Solution Train, even though its default item type is Capability.

    View the details of any work item in the side panel by selecting its primary column. To access all the fields and related lists of the work item, select Full details from the side panel.

    Note:
    The Backlog page for an EAP team shows only those work items that are enabled in its default configuration. For example, for an ART with Full Configuration, the Backlog might show only Features by default. If you want to view other work item types such as Capabilities, Epics, or Stories, work with your admin to update the required EAP configuration details. For more information, see Configure display of other work item types in EAP Backlog and Planning board.

    Column-level filtering of data

    Quickly find the work items that you need by using column-level filters for the data on your EAP Backlog. Using the Column filtering option (), you can filter data on any column displayed on the Backlog tab, which is of the type choice, string, or reference.

    Column level filtering for EAP Backlog.

    Actions within the Backlog

    Within the Backlog, you can perform the following actions:
    • Create iterations such as PIs or Sprints for your teams.
    • Add work to the team's Backlog.
    • Schedule work from Backlog into different iterations.
    • Make in-line edits to update information of work such as Status, Assigned to, or Story points.
    • Reorder planning items (in a group) to prioritize them.
    • Start and complete those iterations.
    • Move incomplete work to the Backlog.
    • Filter the data that's displayed.
    • Choose the columns to be displayed.

    Use the following tasks to start creating and scheduling work for teams in EAP.