Isn't this just the Backlog column on the #Search-Team workboard?

Naively seconding Krenair here (if you don't plan to use your project as a "constant sprint"); also see https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Phabricator/Project_management#Workboard.2Fsprint_board_columns

(CC'ing Team-Practices for recommendations.)

@Krenair Far from it. A backlog should have much more structure than a single ordered list.

We're planning to transition to a sprint-based structure at some point, but we want to ease in to that. Having a mega-board makes it pretty hard to get a picture of what's going on.

Adjusted and executed per request.

Thank you.

I expected the long-term backlog for the Search and Discovery Team to be tasks with lower priority values in the several existing search projects like Wikimedia-Search , MediaWiki-Search, CirrusSearch (excluding #Search-Team by definition, which seems to not be linked from the description of this newly created project).

I don't yet fully understand how adding another project to that mix makes it easier (cf. T96551), plus why this project uses the term "Department" instead of "Team", plus when this project is supposed to get associated to tasks (and who to do that, and who not to do that) in combination or in contrast with the other existing search related projects above.
Phabricator is a public place, so there might be an audience interested in a good understanding how items are tracked in the Search & Discovery area. Thanks in advance for elaborating!

Change 208602 had a related patch set uploaded (by Muehlenhoff):
Update to 3.19.5 (Bug: T97441)

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/208602

Change 208603 had a related patch set uploaded (by Muehlenhoff):
Update to 3.19.6 (Bug: T97441)

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/208603

It looks like those 2 gerrit patches may have been aimed at T97411 rather than this T97441. I emailed the author.

I am still waiting for a reply to T97441#1242577.

@Aklapper The Search Team (vertical) is still working out exactly how we will use phabricator. My best guess at this point is that the freezer will go away, along with many of the other related projects you mentioned. Our plan is to have a solid plan by next week, and I would expect the actual cleanup to happen within a week or two after that.

Change 208603 abandoned by Muehlenhoff:
Update to 3.19.6 (Bug: T97441)

Reason:
superceded by 208662

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/208603