Backlog: A Great Project Management Tool For Developers

Equally a software development squad, one needs a good projection management tool to keep track of their projects, issues, new feature requests, and bugs. We don't take a big software development team here at Beebom, but nosotros exercise take our ain app and website, both of which are managed by our in-business firm team of developers. Even a team as small as ours (five members) needs a good tool to go along the tasks on track and make certain that the members know their assigned duties. Of class, it can exist done using the usual channels of communication similar emails and messages, only that'due south not an optimal solution. Hence, we are always on the lookout for a service which tin can complement the workflows of our developers and provide them with the necessary tools to get things done in a fast and efficient way. If the trouble which I only described resonates with you too, I take a solution which you might desire to expect at. The solution I am talking about is an online project management and bug tracking tool called Backlog.

Excess is an online project management tool which has been created while keeping the needs of developers in heed. Information technology provides necessary tools to keep tracks of ongoing projects, reported bugs, new feature requests, and more. In this commodity, we are going to have a deep dive and figure out if this tin be the solution we are looking for. So, let's get into the details of the software, shall we?

Key Features

As always, we will start with the central features of the software which should give y'all an overall thought of what the software can practise for y'all.

User Categories

Nosotros will commencement showtime with different categories of users that can be created with Excess. Like most of the project direction software, Excess provides members multiple levels of permissions depending on the user category they fall in. A fellow member can either be a Space Possessor, an Administrator, or a User. Now, these are excess's terminologies, so allow me explain them in a little detail here. A Space Owner is basically the possessor of the main Excess business relationship and has the overall command. For case, he can change the universal settings of the account, create new projects, manage members and their permissions, and and so on.

user categories

An Administrator is only beneath Space Owner and has more or less the same functions equally Space Owner like managing projects, assigning members, creating issues and so on. However, he cannot change the universal business relationship settings. Think of an ambassador as a project manager and you lot volition get the idea. Lastly, there's Users, which are the members of your development squad which can be assigned to different projects. They can comment on problems, log their progress, create Issues, check projection status, and more. So, as you can see Backlog provides you with a hierarchal structure where everybody can be assigned permissions based on their work contour.

Project Direction

Backlog provides you lot with iv master functions which are Project Management, Task Management, Bug Tracking, and Version Control. All the other tools are housed under these 4 main tools. We will offset beginning with the Project Management.

Projects

Backlog is a very adept project direction tool equally it provides a unmarried place for all your project related needs. Yous can create new projects, assign members, assign due-dates, converse with the members, give and have feedback, visualize the the projection timeline using Gantt charts, visualize progress with burn down down charts, rails overall progress, and stay updated anywhere with Backlog's mobile apps for Android and iOS. As y'all tin can see, Excess provides with all the tools you will always need to create and manage a projection, all in a single place.

Job Management

However, a project direction software is worth nothing if it can't give you a good way to manage tasks. Thankfully, Excess nails this feature. First, yous get a clear view of all your due tasks at a unmarried place on your dashboard. Yous can also assign and view priority attached to all the tasks. However, my favorite chore management characteristic of Excess is the ability to assign members to a task which also notifies the members. This helps in clearly defining each team member'south responsibility and so at that place's no confusion.

tasks

I also like the job status buttons which inform yous about the status of every task at a glance. There are four unlike status types; Open, In Progress, Resolved and Closed. The best part is that all of them are color coded hence you don't even have to read to know the status of a task. The color coding besides helps in viewing the status in Gantt nautical chart mode. Basically, Backlog takes intendance of all your job management needs without hampering the squad'south workflow.

Issues Tracking

Bug discovery, tracking, and resolving is one of the nigh important parts of software development and I am happy to study that Excess brings a ton of tools to handle this work. Backlog allows you lot to study, organize, hash out, and track bugs, all in place. Since Bugs at the cease of the day come under Tasks, you become all the features that I mentioned in a higher place along with some extra features. The actress features include a comprehensive search to observe duplicate bugs, the power to view change-log history, custom fields to lucifer the workflow, and more.

Bug tracking

Version Command

One matter which makes Backlog different from any other projection management software and particularly expert for developers is the feature which they telephone call Version Control. The characteristic allows you to continue track of all the code changes, commits, and pull-request. Information technology does that by straight integrating with Git and SVN thereby allowing you to easily manage source code next to your projects. Information technology also lets developers compare changes between branches and help them get an overview of the changes that can be merged.

Version control

One of the best features of this tool is that information technology supports inline discussion in the code. Developers can review the changes and annotate right there to go far easier for the other squad members to implement change requests. Other features include keeping rail of commits, documenting projection details, and more.

User Interface

Backlog's user interface is very modern and intuitive. You lot will go used to the interface within a few hours, and start using information technology like a pro in a day or two. All the buttons are easily accessible and you lot don't accept to really wait for annihilation. That said, there are many advanced settings which a user can utilize to make their workflow faster if they want to.

dashboard

The UI is divided into a few main areas, each with its ain set of controls. Get-go, there's the Dashboard, which basically gives you lot an overview of all the projects and issues which are either assigned to your or created past you. There's as well a Contempo Updates section on the Dashboard which shows all the recent comments and changes that has happened within the projects or Issues you lot are a role of.

Home

On the Dashboard, yous can click on the proper name of whatever projection to see its details. The Home page inside any project will show y'all all the recent updates. You can click on the Issues folio to see all the bug which have been created inside the project. But to analyze, an Upshot is any chore you lot create inside a projection. It tin can be a problems, a feature request, a task and so on. Coming dorsum to the Issues folio, I similar the fact that most of the details you lot need near an Issue can be seen here including the Result name, appointment of creation, due appointment, its status, and more. However, If you demand more information about whatsoever Issue, y'all can e'er click on it.

Issues

Then there'due south the "Add Issue" button using which you can create an Event of you own and add members to it. Backlog gives a lot of contol while creating an Issue. Yous can create an Issue either under a projection, or under another Issue itself. Then you can assign members, set up priority and milestones, add due-dates, and more.

creating an Issue

I would besides like to give a special mention to Gantt and burn down charts features of Backlog. The software basically allows y'all to but striking a push button and run into a timeline of all your projects and job statuses in a form of Gantt chart. Basically, y'all tin can utilize the Gantt and burn down view to see if your project is on time or not.

Gantt Chart

To conclude, when it comes to the UI of the software, Excess has knocked the brawl out of the park . The UI feels modern, intuitive and is easy to get the hang of. I likewise similar the fact that the main areas and controls are aforementioned for every user and don't depend on their user category. Whether you are a Space Possessor, Ambassador, or a User, y'all all go the same user interface. The extra features that come with the higher level of permissions provided to Administrators and Space Owners are integrated by adding extra buttons on the same user interface. So, if you larn it once, you won't have to do it again from scratch even if your user hierarchy is upgraded.

Ease Of Utilise

I personally found this software actually easy to use and and so did our development team. According to them, the software is very well made and easy to become used to. All of the things that I mentioned in the user interface section is me paraphrasing their findings, and their bottom line was that the software did help them a lot in streamlining their workflow. Speaking from my time of using this software and their feedback, I can surely say that Backlog is a powerful yet piece of cake to acquire software.

Nonetheless, I did notice difficulties getting the notifications to work. Apparently, notifications are sent when an issue or comment is added and when you lot add members to "notify annotate to" field. It'southward not a big deal actually. Autonomously from this minor niggle, I can say that Backlog is one bang-up for projection management, bug tracking and task management. The extensive options and integrations, along with the beautiful UI make Backlog a must endeavour.

Pricing and Availability

Being a spider web-app, Excess is available for all the desktop platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux. They also provide costless Android and iOS apps to keep rails of your projects on the go. There are multiple pricing plans available for teams depending on their size. The pricing starts at $20/month for 30 users and 5 projects. Y'all can always upgrade if yous have a larger team or want to create more projects. At that place'due south likewise a gratuitous forever plan for small teams which lets you create 1 project with up to 10 members. All of their plans come up with a ane-month gratis trial catamenia, so you lot tin can employ the software extensively before you plant to purchase it.

Pros:

Projection Direction software focusing on developers
Issues tracking and task management
Extensive options while creating a task/Issue
Gantt and fire down chart integration
Beautiful, modernistic, and intuitive UI
Git and SVN integration
Inline Comments

Cons:

Native notification options hard to find

Manage Your Development Projects With Excess

Backlog is one of the few project management tools which solely focuses on developers. It has a modern and beautiful UI with features which will fulfill the needs of any pocket-size or large team. But, I don't want yous to accept my or rather our developer team's words at face value. The software provides a completely gratis 1-month costless trial, so employ it, and so share with u.s. your thoughts in the comment section beneath.

Try our Backlog here