Available tier

The available tier is the set of nodes in a Tree project whose prerequisites are all complete and that haven't been started yet. It's the computed answer to the question "what can the team work on right now."

Always current

The available tier is calculated continuously from the graph. As prerequisites complete, new nodes enter the available tier automatically. As team members claim nodes (moving them to in-progress), those nodes remain in the available tier visually but get marked as picked up. The tier is always current because it's derived from the graph, not curated by a human.

Not a backlog

This is different from a backlog. A backlog is a prioritized list of pending work that has to be groomed, ranked, and maintained by someone.

The available tier is mechanical. It contains exactly the nodes that can start now, no more, no less. There's no grooming step because there's nothing to groom: the graph either says a node is available or it doesn't.

Size reflects shape

The size of the available tier varies with the graph's shape.

• Wide graphs with many entry points produce large available tiers.
• Narrow graphs with a single critical path produce small ones.

Neither is right or wrong; the size reflects the project's structure.

Why it's useful

The available tier is what most teams actually need when they ask "what should I work on." Instead of scanning a backlog and reasoning about priority, the team can look at the available tier and pick. The structural answer is already computed.

Related

• Node
• Locked
• How status is computed