Product Backlog
A Product Backlog is a backlog of product requirements.
- Context:
- It can (often) include a Sprint Backlog (of user stories).
- It can be managed by a Product Manager.
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- Example(s):
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- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Requirement, New Product Development, Software Feature, Patch (Computing), Non-Functional Requirement, Planning Poker.
References
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(software_development)#Product_backlog Retrieved:2016-3-16.
- The product backlog comprises an ordered list of requirements that a scrum team maintains for a product. It consists of features, bug fixes, non-functional requirements, etc. — whatever must be done to successfully deliver a viable product. The product owner orders the product backlog items (PBIs) based on considerations such as risk, business value, dependencies, and date needed.
Items added to a backlog are commonly written in story format. The product backlog is what will be delivered, ordered into the sequence in which it should be delivered. It is visible to everyone but may only be changed with the consent of the product owner, who is ultimately responsible for ordering the items on the backlog for the development team to choose.
The product backlog contains the product owner's assessment of business value and the development team's assessment of development effort, which are often, but not always, stated in story points using a rounded Fibonacci sequence. These estimates help the product owner to gauge the timeline and may influence ordering of backlog items; for example, if the "add spellcheck" and "add table support" features have the same business value, the product owner may schedule earlier delivery of the one with the lower development effort (because the return on investment is higher) or the one with higher development effort (because it is more complex or riskier, and they want to retire that risk earlier). The product backlog and the business value of each backlog item is the responsibility of the product owner. The size (i.e. estimated complexity or effort) of each backlog item is, however, determined by the development team, who contributes by sizing items, either in story points or in estimated hours. There is a common misunderstanding that only user stories are allowed in a product backlog. By contrast, scrum is neutral on requirement techniques. As the Scrum Primer states,
Product Backlog items are articulated in any way that is clear and sustainable. Contrary to popular misunderstanding, the Product Backlog does not contain "user stories"; it simply contains items. Those items can be expressed as user stories, use cases, or any other requirements approach that the group finds useful. But whatever the approach, most items should focus on delivering value to customers.
Scrum advocates that the role of product owner be assigned. The product owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product. The product owner gathers input and takes feedback from, and is lobbied by, many people, but ultimately makes the call on what gets built.
The product backlog:
- Captures requests to modify a product — including new features, replacing old features, removing features, and fixing issues
- Ensures the development team has work that maximizes business benefit to the product owner
- Typically, the product owner and the scrum team come together and write down everything that must be prioritized, and this becomes content for the first sprint — which is a block of time meant for focused work on selected items that can be accommodated within a timeframe. The product backlog can evolve as new information surfaces about the product and about its customers, and so later sprints may address new work.
The following items typically comprise a scrum backlog: features, bugs, technical work, and knowledge acquisition. Web development can entail confusion as to the difference between a feature and a bug:technically a feature is "wanted", while a bug is a feature that is "unintended" or "unwanted" (but may not be necessarily a defective thing). An example of technical work would be: "run virus check on all developers' workstations". An example of knowledge acquisition could be a scrum backlog item about researching Wordpress plugin libraries and making a selection.
- The product backlog comprises an ordered list of requirements that a scrum team maintains for a product. It consists of features, bug fixes, non-functional requirements, etc. — whatever must be done to successfully deliver a viable product. The product owner orders the product backlog items (PBIs) based on considerations such as risk, business value, dependencies, and date needed.