Sprint Backlog Explained + How to Create One

A sprint is a short, time boxed period when a scrum team works to complete a set amount of work. A burndown chart helps visualize the allocated time of a task versus its completion time. Business needs and objectives determine the priority of items in the product backlog.

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The team can then prioritize consideration of that idea alongside other items, and remove the product backlog item if the idea proves to not provide progress toward the desired outcome. Electronic boards are the better option for a team that has remote members or collects a great deal of supplementary information about product backlog items. Physical boards offer the advantage of making the product backlog continuously visible and concrete during discussions around the product backlog. Product backlog is a prioritized list of work items or features that help you meet product goals and set expectations among teams. In general, each product in development should have a dedicated product backlog.

Why Is It Important to Manage Your Backlog?

This is the product backlog, and, in many ways, it’s more important than the roadmap itself — at least on the day-to-day level. A backlog is a prioritized inventory of tasks and deliverables awaiting completion within a project. It is crucial to ensure alignment between the types of backlogs and project requirements to deliver value efficiently and meet the expectations of stakeholders. This universal repository contains every possibility for what the product may add or change in the future. New ideas get added as feedback from the market, and customers continually roll in through various channels. Technical blockers are hazards the team might encounter while developing the product, such as technical debt or a bug.

Used properly, backlogs can also help outline an overall plan and vision

If the backlog grows too large or lacks any consistent, coherent organization, it can quickly shift from a valuable resource to an unsalvageable mess. Great ideas, key customer requests, and crucial technical debt issues carry equal weight. With random items, no one will ever actually prioritize development and fragmented thoughts so inarticulate the team can’t even remember why they’re in there.

1. Product managers (PM) must focus on high-level objectives to solve problems for their target market.
2. While the product owner is tasked with prioritizing the backlog, it’s not done in a vacuum.
3. A backlog is essentially a ‘to-do’ list of smaller tasks, all of which need to be completed within a project or sprint.
4. Tracking backlog velocity is crucial for predicting project timelines and adjusting strategies accordingly.
5. A feature, also known as a user story, is a function of the product that the product user finds valuable.

The product backlog forms part of a product’s long-term strategic plan and evolves with the product. If you want to learn more about the product backlog and the accountability what is the difference between public companies and public sector of product owner on a scrum team, a Certified Scrum Product Owner® (CSPO®) course can help. The second type of scenario is a tactical refinement in which the scrum team adds more details to PBIs and may split the work into multiple PBIs if the existing items are too large in scope. The product owner works closely with stakeholders and the development team to create and maintain a product backlog. If you’ve ever had to manage a ‘to-do’ list, you’ll know that they don’t always work as well as expected. Not only is it easier to assign tasks when everything is clearly itemized, but backlogs are also digital conversation-starters, encouraging cross-team discussion of the entire project roadmap.

Likewise, a falling backlog might be a portentous sign of lagging demand but may also signify improving production efficiency. Naturally, unexpected backlogs can compromise forecasts and production schedules. The term backlog is used to indicate the existing workload that exceeds the production capacity of a firm or department, often used in construction or manufacturing. It may, for example, refer to a company’s sales orders waiting to be filled or a stack of financial paperwork, such as loan applications, that needs to be processed. Enhance your sprint reviews with Atlassian’s comprehensive 3-step guide. Explore strategies for sprint review meetings, and level up your Agile process.

What is a product backlog? (And how to create one)

Sprint backlogs should include clearly defined goals for the team, which keep your team focused and on task. Make sure your goals are specific and can be completed within the time constraint of the sprint. A product backlog in Agile is an ordered, emergent list of tasks, features, and improvements that the Scrum team needs to complete to meet the product goal. You create a product backlog from the product roadmap, which explains the plan of action for the product’s evolution. Developers use the tasks in the product backlog to get to their desired outcomes as quickly as possible.

A product backlog commonly includes features, bug fixes, technical debts, and knowledge acquisition. These product backlog items are distinct pieces of work that have yet to be delivered for a product. A product backlog is an ordered list of tasks, features, or PBIs (product backlog items) to be completed as part of a larger roadmap. A team owns its product backlog and may have a specific role – product owner – with the primary responsibility for maintaining the product backlog. Backlog grooming sessions play a critical role in the ongoing refinement and updating of the backlog to ensure its alignment with the current project status.