What is a product backlog?

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2 minute read

What is a product backlog?

Demystifying the Product Backlog 📝

I’m often asked straightforward questions about being an Agile Consultant, but this one tops the list! 

Let’s start off with a pretty official explanation of a product backlog. 

A product backlog serves as a roadmap, guiding our development team’s efforts by prioritising tasks. Not only does it help us visualise our goals, but it also provides an opportunity to foster collaboration and creativity as the team brainstorms on how to transform these envisioned functionalities into reality.

But if you’re new to Scrum, let’s get into the basics of a product backlog.  📌

A product backlog is a list of features or improvements we envision for our product - things we want our product to do that it doesn’t yet.

Sounds pretty simple, right?  💡

More Than Just a To-Do List

But there’s more to this question! 🚀

Allow me to fill you in on some essential points to remember about what is involved in a product backlog: 🎯

  • It can be short with one item or long with twenty. Flexibility is key.

  • It is NOT a dumping ground for an endless list of things. If you have 5000 items, it’s time to do serious backlog pruning! 🌳🪓

  • The key essence of a product backlog is ‘understanding’. Everyone should understand every item, from stakeholders and product owners to team members. If they don’t, it’s time to reconsider whether what you have is a product backlog at all! 🤔

Are you struggling to create or maintain a lean and efficient product backlog?

Sign up for my Agile and Scrum courses and let’s clear up the product backlog confusion together. 🎯

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Keywords:       Product backlog, Agile, Scrum, Backlog Management.

Hashtags:        #ProductBacklog #Agile #Scrum #BacklogManagement

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So a product backlog is really very misunderstood. A product backlog is just a list of things that we would like the product to do that it doesn’t do yet. That’s it. It can be super short. Here’s one thing that I would like the product to do that it doesn’t do yet; that’s a product backlog.

Here’s 20 things that I’d like the product to do; that might be a product backlog. Here’s something that’s not a product backlog: here’s 5,000 things I’d like the product to do. That is absolutely not a product backlog; that’s just a dumping ground. That’s a dump, right?

One of the key things that makes a product backlog a product backlog is that everybody—stakeholders, product owner, and team members—understand everything that’s in there. And if they don’t, it’s not a product backlog.

Product Backlog Scrum Product Development

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