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Christie12
Christie12
August 5, 2025
Question

When does a ticket get categorized as "backlog?"

  • August 5, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 54 views

How does a ticket get categorized as “backlog?” Is it any ticket open longer than X days, or it just any ticket open when the backlog reporting is run each day, regardless of how long it's been open? 

      3 replies

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      Rose14
      August 6, 2025

      A ticket is categorized as "backlog" based on its status within a project management system, not simply by how long it has been open. The term "backlog" typically refers to a list of tasks, features, bugs, or other items that a team needs to work on. A ticket is added to the backlog when it is deemed a valid task but has not yet been assigned to a sprint or worked on. Therefore, a ticket can be in the backlog for any duration—it could be a new ticket that hasn't been prioritized yet, or an older one that's been de-prioritized. The backlog is a dynamic list, constantly being groomed, prioritized, and updated by the team or product manager.

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

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      Daniel173
      August 6, 2025

      I believe its just the open tickets in an overview. 

      https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408819760666-Analyzing-your-ticket-backlog-history-with-Explore

      Your ticket backlog is a snapshot of your unsolved tickets at the end of any given date

       

      Francis14
      Francis14Employee
      Employee
      August 6, 2025
      Hi Christie,
       
      In Zendesk, a ticket is categorized as "backlog" simply if it is still open (i.e., not solved or closed) at the time backlog reporting or measurement is performed. It does not require the ticket to be open longer than a specific number of days by default—any ticket that remains open when the backlog is assessed counts toward the backlog. Organizations can, however, create custom reports or filters to focus on tickets open beyond a certain threshold if they want to analyze aging backlog specifically. But out of the box, "backlog" in Zendesk refers to all unresolved tickets present at the time of reporting.
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