Make issue prioritization a habit
The best way to avoid backlog issue overload—is to constantly think about how it meets the team's priorities. In other words—re-evaluate all issues from time to time.
It may sound like a lot of time. But as it becomes a weekly habit, like a workout, you'll need less than 1 hour a week to keep your backlog in great shape.
P.S. Each of our teammates spends about 20 mins per week on issues evaluation.
Step 1: Go to board settings
All notification settings are individual for every board. Open a board, go to the upper menu, find Settings, and click on the tab Board.
![Ducalis Board Settings](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e850a6cf7a82f6810bcb99b/5e973ff8aa68b500a880794c_1111.png)
Step 2: Set scores expiration time
Nothing lasts forever. The company's priorities are no exception. Something considered as crucial a month ago, can lose its urgency now, and vice versa.
Ducalis has a great tool: Issue scores expiration.
It means how often your team should read and evaluate all issues in the selected board.
![Advanced Board Settings](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e850a6cf7a82f6810bcb99b/5e974175eb1f6332b5b4330e_2222.png)
It sets the number of days in which the scores will be reset, and each team member will have to re-evaluate the issues. Find the right balance between the frequency of priorities changes in your team and the number of new issues coming every week.
The rule of thumb is 3-4 sprints. Start from there. You can change it anytime.
Step 3: Connect team's Slack channel
Click the Slack button and choose a channel with all the members of the current board.
![Slack Board Settings](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e850a6cf7a82f6810bcb99b/5e974368eaea9d731e3305b4_3333.png)
Step 4: Set a reminder
When should your team get a reminder to evaluate new issues? We recommend doing this at the end of the sprint.
For our team with weekly sprints, we set it to Friday's noon, as it's a great time to set back all your work and think about new issues. Somebody will always have a question or a comment.
![Reminder Time](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e850a6cf7a82f6810bcb99b/5e974475108e5929e44baa07_4444.png)
Step 5: Get words of appreciation
When it's time, your team will get a message about who's keeping their issues evaluated and who is not.
![Reminder Slack](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e850a6cf7a82f6810bcb99b/5e973bfc2d3d99eb9fabc478_asdvasdvasdv.png)
It's a friendly reminder shared with the whole team. That tiny message can train each teammate to keep their issues evaluated to get appreciation in a public channel.