Backlog 101: Issues

Issues, or tasks, help you manage work within a project including assignees, deadlines, status, and more. You define these issues by creating issue types.

In this overview, we’ll go over: 

• Issue types
• Issue properties

And how to:

• Add issues
• Add child issues
• Search for issues
• Comment on issues

Issue types

There are two types of Backlog issues: Parent and child. Parent issues are larger tasks (e.g., summer marketing campaign), and child issues are used to break that task into smaller, more manageable ones (e.g., photography, copywriting, design). Child issues are available with the Starter plan and above and must be enabled by an admin or project admin in the project settings.

Issue properties

All issues have a unique issue key that’s automatically created and assigned when you add an issue. Issue keys include the project key (e.g., MKTG) and a sequential number based on the project’s number of registered issues (e.g., MKTG-1, MKTG-2, MKTG-3). Only the project key can be changed by an admin or project admin.

When adding an issue, you’ll see two main areas: description and condition fields (e.g., status, assignee, due date, etc.).

The description summarizes the issue and should include any background information about the task. Use @mention to notify a member or team about the issue.

The condition fields allow you to categorize the issue by the following:

• Issue type: Customizable for project members in project settings.
• Status: Automatically set as “Open” when adding an issue. Custom statuses, available with the Starter plan and above, can be created by admins and project admins.
• Assignee: Assign an issue to yourself or someone else. Issues can only have one assignee.
• Priority: Default options include low, normal, and high.
• Milestone: Link an issue to existing milestone(s). To add a new milestone, select the “+” icon.
• Category: Classify issues into groups for filtering. To add a new category, select the “+” icon.
• Version: Link an issue to a version (released milestone. To add a new version, select the “+” icon.
• Start and due date: Start dates are only available if an admin or project admin enables charts.
• Estimated and actual hours: Estimated hours are required to track milestones via the burndown chart. Estimated and actual hours are only available if an admin or project admin enables charts.
• Custom fields: Added by an admin or project admin and available with Premium and Enterprise plans.

Add issues

There are two ways to add an issue:

• From the global navigation, select the “+” icon and “Add issue.”
• From the global navigation, select “Projects” and “Add issue” under the project name.
• Enter the issue details.
• Select “Add” to save the issue.

Add child issues

Child issues, or subtasks, can help manage larger tasks and keep work connected. To add a child issue:

• Go to the main issue page.
• Under “Subtasking,” select “Add child issue.”
• Enter the issue details.
• Select “Add” to save the issue.

Search for issues

To view, filter, and search for all issues in a project:

• Go to the project homepage.
• Select “Issues” from the menu on the left.
• Choose between “Search” or “Advanced search” to filter for specific issues.

Comment on issues

Collaborate on issues with comments. To add a comment:

• Go to the issue page.
• Use the text field at the bottom to add your comment.
• Select “Save” to add your comment.