Glossary
Backlog
The set of unresolved tickets at any given point in time, typically tracked as total open and aging open.
Backlog is the set of unresolved tickets at any given point in time. It is the most direct signal of whether support capacity is keeping up with inbound volume. Two views matter: total backlog (all open tickets) and aging backlog (tickets older than your SLA). Healthy teams keep aging backlog near zero by routing breach-risk tickets to the front of the queue. Backlog spikes often signal an upstream problem like a recent product release with a bug, a marketing campaign driving signups, or an outage. AI Agent absorbs backlog elastically because it scales with volume rather than headcount.
Related terms
- Service level agreement (SLA): A defined commitment to respond or resolve within a target time, often by channel and priority.
- Resolution time: The total elapsed time from a ticket being opened to being marked resolved, including wait periods.