Product Backlog

What is a Product Backlog?

In Agile methodology, a product backlog is a prioritized list of tasks a team may deliver to build a product. It contains a product’s vision and visualizes the work needed to fulfill product goals in a well-prioritized manner. 

In other words, nothing gets done if it’s not on the product backlog. Similarly, if a task is on backlog it doesn’t mean it will be delivered. Hence, the Product backlog is always dynamic. It continuously evolves during the development process in backlog refinement sessions. 

Backlog always remains well–prioritized so the team stays organized and works on important tasks first. Moreover, it also helps to set expectations with the stakeholders by clearly visualizing what the development team is working on and what is coming next. It increases flexibility and boosts understanding among the scrum team to ensure everyone is on the same page. 

Who creates Product backlog?

Product owner is responsible for creating and maintaining the product backlog. However, development team, stakeholders, and customers also play a crucial role in providing work items for the backlog. Product owners with the help of development prioritized these items based on urgency, value, and strategic importance. 

Product owner also defines the work item, adds important details, creates DOD, and ensures it aligns with the product vision and goal.  Moreover, they constantly refine the product backlog to keep it updated and align with business needs. 

What is in the Product Backlog?

Product backlog consists of a wide range of items including features, user stories bug fixes, enhancement, technical debts, customer requests, stakeholder requests, and more. These are distinct tasks that a scrum team will work on in the future to deliver the product. 

1. Epic

Epic is a large, higher-level work item in the product backlog that represents a product goal or feature. Typically, epic is too large to complete in a single sprint or titration it is broken down into manageable user stories. It usually takes multiple sprints to complete an epic. 

Example: 

“Create a user authentication and profile management system.”

2. User Stories 

A user story is a smaller, more specific work item derived from the epic that typically represents a single functionality or user request. User stories are designed to be small enough to be completed in a single sprint. Moreover, user stories are written from the perspective of the end-user and hence follow a specific format:

“As a [user], I want [user need, feature, requirement or a goal], so that [benefit, problem to solve].”

Example: 

“As a Scrum Slate user, I want to be able to reset my password, so that I can access my account if I forget it.”

3. Bug Fixes

Bug fixes are often characterized as the issues, errors, or defects in the product. Unlike epic and user stories, bug fixes focus on resolving the current problems in the product to enhance its stability, scalability, and performance. Moreover, Bug fixes often vary in size and scope – some usually fixed immediately while others may require strategic planning, investigation, and extensive testing. 

4. Technical Debt

Similar to “financial debt” technical debt is “accumulated interest” when ignored. When the development team makes technical compromises and doesn’t address these issues immediately instead of adding to the backlog, it creates technical debt. These items are prioritized alongside the user stories to ensure the stability and scalability of the product.  

5. Customer Requests

Customer requests typically include asks, suggestions, and feedback from the end users and stakeholders to improve the product or fix issues. In Scrum, customer requests are prioritized and often end up as user stories to ensure the product aligns with user needs. 

How to Create Product Backlog?

A product backlog is one of the most critical steps in agile development as it sets the foundation for what the team will build, prioritize, and deliver. A well-prioritized and groomed backlog ensures the development work aligns with product goals, vision, and user needs. 

Here are the five steps to creating a well-organized product backlog:

1. Define the Product Vision, Goals, and Roadmap

Start with a clear understanding of product vision and strategic goals. Identifying the key goals and achievements you want to achieve with the product will help the team build the product roadmap. Creating a roadmap will provide the foundation for your product backlog. 

2. Engage Key Stakeholders

Involve stakeholders, end-users, business leaders, and the Development Team, to gather insights, expectations, and requirements. Their feedback will form the basis for backlog items. Ask them questions like:

• What’s important?
• What are your expectations?
• Which problems to solve?
• What features do they envision?

3. List product backlog items

Break down the product vision into large and small work items such as epics, user stories, tasks, and subtasks. Your backlog items should contain both high-priority as well as low-priority items and issues. Hence, make sure to keep communicating with key stakeholders for further improvement. 

4. Estimate and Prioritize Backlog Items

Now estimate and prioritize your backlog items based on their value, urgency, and product goals. In the scrum framework, a backlog refinement meeting is usually arranged to estimate and prioritize the backlog items. 

5. Refine and update the backlog.

Regularly review and update the backlog items. Add new features, user stories, bug fixes, technical debt, and more to stay aligned with evolving product goals and customers’ needs.  

Product Backlog Vs Sprint Backlog 

The product backlog and sprint backlog are two fundamental concepts in the scrum framework with similar in terms of components but distinct in functionality. 

Product Backlog

Definition: Product backlog is a comprehensive list of all the desired work that the team will do to build a product. 

Ownership: Product owner

Scope: Contains a wide range of items, including epics, user stories, technical tasks, and defects.

Life Cycle: Represents the long-term vision of the product and is not time-bound.

Prioritization: Prioritized based on product goals, business value, and user needs.

Sprint Backlog

Definition: The Sprint backlog is a specific list of work items the team commits to deliver in a sprint. 

Ownership: Development Team

Scope: Contains only those user stories, tasks, and items that the team commits to completing during the sprint. 

Life Cycle: Time Bound (typically 1 – 4 weeks)

Prioritization: Items are prioritized based on the sprint goal and the team’s capacity.

Maintain your Product Backlog With Scrum Slate 

Maintaining a well-organized product backlog is crucial for the success of any scrum team. Scrum Slate can help you to efficiently create and maintain backlog with advanced customization and prioritization tools. Here is how Scrum Slate can help you create your backlog and keep it up-to-date:

1. Task List categorization

In Scrum Slate, you can create multiple task lists to organize and keep your features, technical debt, bug fixes, and customer requests separately. Moreover, you can also use the drag-and-drop feature to effortlessly change the position of task lists. For instance, if you need to prioritize customer requests over features for an upcoming sprint, you can simply drag the relevant task list to the top.

2. Custom Statuses

Create custom statuses in Scrum Slate that align with your team’s needs and workflow. Hence, you can create a different workflow pipeline for every project.

3. Task Breakdown

Create high-level user stories and break them into smaller manageable tasks and subtasks. Consequently,  the team can understand what to do in each user story. 

4. Effort estimation and prioritization

Scrum Slate allows you to assign story points and priority to each user story, task, and bug. This can help the team assess the complexity, urgency, and effort required to complete a task.