Backlog
Backlog refers to the accumulation of unresolved support tickets that are awaiting attention from your support team. It represents the gap between incoming ticket volume and your team’s resolution capacity.
Why Backlog Matters
Monitoring your backlog helps you:
- Prevent SLA breaches — Large backlogs often lead to missed response time targets
- Maintain customer satisfaction — Customers in the backlog are waiting for help
- Balance workloads — Redistribute tickets before backlogs become unmanageable
- Forecast staffing needs — Persistent backlogs indicate capacity issues
How to Calculate Backlog
Backlog = Total Open Tickets - Tickets Actively Being Worked
A more nuanced view considers:
- Age distribution — How long tickets have been waiting
- Priority breakdown — High-priority items in the backlog are more urgent
- SLA status — Which tickets are approaching or past their target response time
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Backlogs
A small backlog is normal and even healthy — it means you have work flowing through the system. Warning signs include:
- Growing backlog — More tickets arriving than being resolved
- Aging tickets — Old tickets languishing without attention
- SLA-critical items — Tickets about to breach service level agreements
Reducing Backlog
Strategies to manage backlog include:
- Adding temporary capacity during peak periods
- Improving first contact resolution to reduce ticket complexity
- Implementing self-service options to deflect simple requests
- Prioritizing and triaging effectively
Tracking Backlog in TicketBoard
TicketBoard shows your open ticket status breakdown, helping you visualize:
- Current backlog size
- Ticket status distribution (new, open, pending, solved)
- Tickets by assignee to identify overloaded agents