TFS 2012 Product Backlog ordering per team

Question

Here is my current project/team setup in TFS 2012:

Project:MyProject
Teams: Team1, Team2

So that means I have 2 separate backlogs - 1 per team - each accessible via their appropriate team area path ("MyProject/Team1" and "MyProject/Team2"). This also means I have a sort of "master" product backlog, accessible at the "MyProject" level; a place where there is no delineation of task-by-team.

What I'm trying to do is have a setup where project managers/execs/etc. can see the "master" version, and each team has their own granular details. This is all well and good as it stands, until you try to do any backlog sorting at the team level. Let's say you have following backlog:

Order - TaskName - Team
1 - Task1 - Team1
2 - Task2 - Team2
3 - Task3 - Team1
4 - Task4 - Team2

What I'm seeing happening in my setup is if you try to do any re-prioritizing in the "MyProject/Team2" backlog, you could end up putting "Task4" higher than "Task1" in the "MyProject" backlog, which would be wrong at that macro level.

I completely realize why this can happen, what I'm wondering is if anyone can give a better idea for a setup/solution?

Answer 1

I may not be understanding your question, but is the order you provided actually chronological? If so, why is it split between teams? If you reorder task4 to be team2's first priority, is it actually dependent upon the completion of task1 by team1? I would assume not, and if that is the case then when viewing tasks at the project level, I would suggest sorting by teams, and then tasks. That would seem to preserve chronological ordering, by teams.

Answer 2

IMO: Team backlog is just a VIEW(filtering) on the PBL. The PBL order is a property of the project PBL and NOT of the Team PBL. You must always re-order at PBL level, never at Team Level.