Using 'Rank' in formulas?

Does anyone have any examples of using Rank in a formula? I can imagine finding it useful, but since it seems to be a specific data type (not a string, integer, bool etc.) then I can’t figure out how to use it…

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Do you have any scenario in mind?

Actually, the question was triggered by this other discussion:

I figured that @Aram_Zadikian might be interested in returning the highest ranking vendor if there was more than one that had the cheapest price…

I also read this discussion page and wondered if a formula based on rank might provide the solution

I have a scenario which I’m trying to use rank for.
Given hierarchy like
Project → tasks
I noticed that tasks can be sorted within a project using drag&drop

Which I presume is based on rank.

I would like to get highest ranking tasks to appear on top of my task list to make sure that I do them first without going into project to see the order of completion.

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I have no idea if Rank works this way. But if not, a workaround could be to create a Field for “Priority” (or “Rank” or whatever) then create a Kanban board visualizing your Priorities, and you can drag between them to adjust priority. Then in Table view sort by Priority and you have a “do first” list.

The workaround works though we do calculate priority ourselves using complicated different weights.
Rank would be sufficient enough and consider that it’s already exists in the system I don’t see why it cannot be exposed to be used in formulas.
Any reason @mdubakov?

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A similar idea. I have a backlog prioritized by dragging the most important items to the top. I want to show the top 5 on the team’s Kanban board, so they can pick up one next.

A workaround is to assign priorities, but it’s extra manual work and not fine-grained enough. If I mark 15 items as highest priority (out of a hundred), they will not be ordered in any meaningful way.

Is the backlog shared amongst several teams? If so, does this mean that the top 5 tasks for one team may not be the same top 5 for another team (but globally, they exist in a ranked order)?

It’s for one team, but I may want to filter it. For example, the product owner prioritizes the backlog by rank, the team estimates the tasks. Now, the I want to show only the top 5 tasks that have an estimation.

What view did you imagine that the Team will use to view the top 5 tasks (that have been estimated)?

The reason I ask is because you mentioned a kanban, so i am wondering what the columns (and rows?) might be

The columns are statuses (though irrelevant for this use case), the rows are the assignees. You see on the board:

  • all assigned tasks being worked on
  • 5 unassigned tasks that people can choose from