Launch
Use the VisualBacklog link in the project navigation to launch it.
Navigate
Pan
Using the mouse:
Click on the background pane and drag to pan
Scroll to pan up and down
Scroll
+Shift
to pan left and rightScroll
+Alt/Option
to pan up and down
Using the trackpad:
Click on the background pane and drag to pan
Use your two fingers to pan
Drag
Click and hold on and issue/project node then drag it to move it around.
Zoom
Mouse
Hold down Control
and scroll up
/ down
to zoom in/out
Trackpad
Hold down Control
and scroll up
/ down
using you too fingers
Focus
Hold Alt/Option
and click on a board, project or issue to focus on it.
Hold down Alt/Option
and click on a the background pane to zoom out.
Load / Filter data
Load
Use the source dropwdown to select the source data of VisualBacklog, you can choose from a list of:
Project: fetches the current project’s issues in addition to their external dependencies/dependents (if
External issues
option is selected in the project filter).Board: uses the corresponding board’s JQL filter to fetch issues and their external dependencies/dependents (if
External issues
option is selected in the project filter).
Filter
Use the data filters on the top of VisualBacklog to filter the issues/projects you would like to work on.
Search
Use the Search bar to locate issue, projects, boards and prioritisation tracks on the graph. Use the esc
keyboard key to zoom out of the selected node.
Plan
Link / Unlink Issues
To link issues, click on the source port (right port in a Horizontal layout) of one issue, drag and drop it on a target port of another issue. This create a draft edge that you can use to select the type of relationship between them.
To unlink issues, click on the x
button on the right of label of the link type.
View/Edit Issues
Double clicking an issue node opens the native issue dialog, thanks you can take a closer look at the issue details. You can also use the same dialog for editing it.
Create issues
Issues can be created using:
The create child issue button on the epic node tool bar. This will create a child issue of the given epic.
The create issue button on the project node tool bar.
The create issue button on the left of the search bar.
Prioritise
Prioritisation tracks
Use the issue link dropdown to filter out issue links that do not correspond to a dependency relationship e.g.
duplicates
orclones
and keep only those that do e.g.blocks
Enable the prioritisation tracks option located in the Layout Configuration panel on the right of VisualBacklog’s screen.
Voilà! VisualBacklog groups the issues on the board into prioritisation tracks that are numbered and ordered by the ascending order of priority.
Bottlenecks
Use the issue link dropdown to filter out issue links that do not correspond to a dependency relationship e.g.
duplicates
orclones
and keep only those that do e.g.blocks
.OPTIONAL enable the prioritisation tracks.
Enable the bottlenecks option located in the Layout Configuration panel on the right of VisualBacklog’s screen.
There you go! bottlenecks are highlighted while non bottlenecks are faded. A bottleneck is a not-done issue that is also a dependency of another issue located on a forward prioritisation tracks.
Thanks to the prioritisation tracks and the bottlenecks options, prioritising work becomes easier. when both options are enabled, non faded issues on the left most track are the issues that must be prioritised first before moving to the next track and so on.
Compact mode
This option comes handy when working on a large graph of issues. It shortens the distance between the issues to fit more of them on the screen. This helps understand the dependencies at a quick glance without the need to zoom/pan.
Please note that you cant edit the issue link labels when compact mode is enabled.
And More…
Checkout our comprehensive guide to learn more.