The Product Backlog is a single, ordered list of everything that is known to be needed in a product. It is the single source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product. The Product Owner is responsible for the Product Backlog, including its content, availability, and ordering.
Key Aspects of a Product Backlog (DEEP)
A good Product Backlog has four key qualities, summarized by the acronym DEEP.
- Detailed Appropriately – Items at the top of the backlog are detailed and ready for the team to work on, while items at the bottom are less detailed.
- Emergent – It is a living document that is never complete. It evolves as the product and the understanding of it evolves.
- Estimated – Every item has an estimate of its size or effort, which helps in ordering and forecasting.
- Prioritized – All items are ordered, with the most valuable and highest-priority items at the top.
What’s in a Product Backlog?
The Product Backlog is composed of Product Backlog Items (PBIs), which can include:
| Item Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Features | New capabilities for the user. | ”As a user, I want to pay with a credit card.” |
| Bugs / Defects | Fixes for issues in the existing product. | ”The login button does not work on Safari.” |
| Technical Debt | Work needed to improve the codebase or infrastructure. | ”Upgrade the database server to the latest version.” |
| Knowledge Acquisition | Research or exploration needed to solve a problem. | ”Investigate a new payment gateway API.” |
Example Scenarios
E-commerce Website
The Product Owner for an e-commerce site has a backlog with items like “Implement a customer review system” at the top (high priority), followed by “Add a ‘compare products’ feature,” and “Fix a typo on the contact page.” The lowest priority item might be “Explore using a new cloud provider.”
Mobile App Development
A Scrum team is building a new app. The Product Backlog is the master list of all desired features. Before each sprint, the team and Product Owner review the top of the backlog in a Backlog Refinement meeting to ensure the items are well-understood and ready to be pulled into the next sprint.
Why The Product Backlog Matters
- Provides a Single Source of Truth – It is the one and only place for all future work on the product, eliminating confusion from competing lists.
- Drives Sprint Planning – The prioritized backlog is the direct input for Sprint Planning meetings, where the team selects the work for the next iteration.
- Creates Transparency – It makes all potential work visible to all stakeholders, who can see what is coming up and where their requests are in the queue.
- Enables Flexibility – Because it is a dynamic list, the Product Owner can adapt to market changes and stakeholder feedback by reordering the backlog.
See also: Sprint Backlog, User Story, Product Owner, Scrum, Backlog Refinement.