Allaskasteluun

Allaskasteluun is a term used in agile project management to describe the practice of consolidating all incoming work items from multiple sources into a single central queue, or backlog, for prioritization and planning. By creating a unified workspace, teams aim to improve prioritization, reduce context-switching, and increase cross-team transparency.

The term’s origin is unclear and it appears to be a neologism that emerged in Finnish-speaking software communities in the 2010s. It may be a portmanteau blending Finnish linguistic elements with English backlog or pull-portfolio concepts. Some commentators suggest the illative-like suffix -uun emphasizes movement toward a single destination, reinforcing the idea of convergence, though exact etymology remains debated.

Implementation typically involves a centralized backlog maintained in a single tool visible to all stakeholders, along with regular backlog grooming sessions and integration with existing cadences such as sprint planning or Kanban replenishment. Variants range from strict centralization to soft consolidation, where multiple teams share a unified backlog board but retain some team-specific prioritization signals.

Benefits often cited include improved visibility of work in progress, faster prioritization decisions, and reduced duplication of effort. Downsides noted by critics include the risk of creating bottlenecks around a single product owner or backlog manager, potential loss of team autonomy, and the need for ongoing discipline to maintain backlog quality and balance.

See also: Kanban, Scrum, backlog grooming, portfolio management, project management.