In plain English
It is an organized list of tasks or other work that has not been finished yet. Those items are still waiting to be handled.
In context
Here, backlog names the list of unfinished work items that are waiting to be prioritized as they are dealt with.
- Situation
- Collaborating remotely through projects, tasks, meetings, handoffs, and approvals
- What it communicates
- names the pool of work waiting for prioritization
Meaning limits
The term by itself does not say who will handle the work or when it will be done.
Examples
“By Friday, the backlog contained fifteen repair jobs that were still waiting to be done.”
“Before they started on new requests, the team reviewed the backlog and moved the oldest tasks to the top.”