Formula Generator | Excel

Month-over-Month Ticket Backlog Calculation in Excel

Learn to calculate the month-over-month ticket backlog in Excel using a structured formula that factors in tickets opened and resolved. This guide provides a clear data structure, formula implementation, and practical examples.

Prompt

Answer

Calculating Month-over-Month Backlog of Tickets in Excel

Overview

To calculate the month-over-month backlog of tickets in Excel, we will use a formula that considers the number of tickets opened and resolved each month. The backlog is computed as the difference between the tickets opened and resolved up to the current month.

Key Variables

Open Tickets (O): Total tickets opened during the month.
Resolved Tickets (R): Total tickets resolved during the month.
Backlog (B): Outstanding tickets at the end of each month.

Formula Structure

The formula for calculating the backlog for a specific month would be:

B(i) = B(i-1) + O(i) - R(i)

Where:

B(i) is the backlog at the end of month i.
B(i-1) is the backlog at the end of the previous month.
O(i) is the tickets opened in month i.
R(i) is the tickets resolved in month i.

Excel Implementation

Step 1: Data Structure

Organize your Excel sheet as follows:

A	B	C	D
Month	Open Tickets	Resolved Tickets	Backlog
Jan	150	120	=B2-C2
Feb	200	180	=D2+B3-B3
Mar	250	220	=D3+B4-B4

Step 2: Using Formulas

For January (assuming no backlog from the previous month), you can manually set:
- Cell D2: =B2-C2 (Calculate initial backlog)
For February:
- Cell D3: =D2+B3-C3 (Using the backlog from January)
For March:
- Cell D4: =D3+B4-C4 (Using the backlog from February)

Explanation of the Formulas

The formula in D2 calculates the backlog for January by subtracting the resolved tickets from the open tickets, indicating how many tickets remain unresolved.
The following months’ backlog calculations add the newly opened tickets and subtract the resolved tickets from the previous month’s backlog, allowing for a continuous tally of the ongoing backlog.

Practical Example

Assuming the following data has been entered in your Excel sheet:

Month	Open Tickets	Resolved Tickets	Backlog
Jan	150	120	30
Feb	200	180	50
Mar	250	220	80

January: Backlog calculation yields 30 (150 opened - 120 resolved).
February: Backlog calculation yields 50 (30 from January + 200 opened - 180 resolved).
March: Backlog calculation yields 80 (50 from February + 250 opened - 220 resolved).

Conclusion

This structured approach effectively allows the monitoring of monthly ticket backlogs in Excel. For further learning on data analysis and ticket management, consider exploring resources on the Enterprise DNA Platform.