Backlog Prioritization in Azure DevOps
🤔 Context: The team’s product backlog in Azure DevOps keeps growing — new features, user stories, tech debt, you name it. Everything lives in the "To Do" state until someone picks it up.
But over time, some items just sit there, untouched and forgotten. And with the team relying on periodic manual grooming sessions, it’s easy to miss the ones that have gone stale.
There’s no built-in visibility into how long backlog items have been stuck in “To Do.” So prioritization becomes reactive, inconsistent, and sometimes purely gut-feeling.
🌧️ User Problem: As a Product Owner using Azure DevOps, I need a way to automatically spot work items that have been in the “To Do” state for too long.
If something hasn’t moved in 5–7 business days, I want to know — maybe it’s not clear enough, not important, or simply forgotten. But digging through the backlog manually to find these stale items is a time-sink.
I need clear visual cues and alerts that show me what needs attention, so I can reprioritize, clarify, or remove stale tasks from the queue.
☔ Solution: Add SLA Time Goals for “To Do” with Time in State for Azure DevOps
Using the Time in State app, you can set SLA time limits for the “To Do” status and get automatic alerts when items sit there too long — no more backlog surprises.
🔧 How It Works
✅ 1. Create a Query
Build a query to list all work items currently in the "To Do" state — including Features, Bugs, and User Stories.
✅ 2. Define SLA Rules in the App
SLA Name | State | Time Goal | Alert Color | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
To Do – Warning | To Do | 5 business days | Yellow | Heads-up: review before it goes stale |
To Do – Critical | To Do | 7 business days | Red | Task is stale: time to act |
✅ 3. Set Working Hours
Configure your team’s calendar (e.g. Mon–Fri, 9 AM–5 PM) to ensure only working hours are counted, so items aren’t unfairly flagged over weekends.
🖥️ Real-Time Visual Cues
As items exceed their SLA limits, they change color directly in the Time in State grid:
🟡 Yellow = warning
🔴 Red = critical
You get an at-a-glance view of stale backlog items, helping you:
Reprioritize important tasks
Split or clarify tickets that aren’t gaining traction
Keep the team focused on high-impact work
🔑 Why It Matters for Azure DevOps Teams
Helps manage product backlog effectively
Boosts backlog grooming sessions with data
Prevents valuable tasks from being buried
Keeps work moving and priorities clear
If you need help or want to ask questions, please contact SaaSJet Support or email us at support@saasjet.atlassian.net
Haven't used this add-on yet? Try it now >>> Time in State for Azure DevOps