What is Product Backlog and who owns it? | chisel (2023)

Was ist Product Backlog?

Scrum DelaysList all the work you need to do. This is where you save the things you need to do in the future.

Specifically, a Product Backlog is a list that contains user stories, new features, changes to existing features, anderror correction.It also includes elements that help teams achieve specific outcomes.

Nothing gets done unless it's in the Product Backlog. But just because you write something down doesn't mean you're obligated to turn it in.

Onlyrepresents an optionoffering certain things instead of compromise.

Should bestraightto add an item to the Product Backlog. Removing an item from the backlog should also be just as easy.

When organizing your product portfolio, you shouldSort items by priority.The items with the highest rank represent the most important pieces of equipment to complete the task.

IsSizejDetailof a portfolio item may vary depending on how long you need it.

Working on an article shouldcontain enough informationso that the device works immediately.

However, let's assume that these articles do not have a specific time frame.

In such a case, your outline should remain broad with few details. This ensures that you can move on to other projects if needed or desired.

Product backlog items are constantly changing as team members better understand the outcome.

These changes include adding or removing backlog items and refining existing items.

Such a procedure gives thedynamic functionAevery project/product development.

With regard to the product portfolio, a team can consist of several people with different roles.

The person responsible for maintaining everything related to this list is named“Product Owner”.

Prima:Click here for information on the roles and responsibilities of a Product Owner.

This position requires tracking of items that you can delete upon completion or no longer need to be there for whatever reason.

Changes within teams, such as adding new members or changing goals, should also be reflected in a change in their priorities. This helps keep everything up to date.

Who owns the product portfolio?

der Product Ownerowns and decides to prioritize the product portfolio.

It would be better for every member of the wholecross-functional teamscontribute to the delays.

Another thing to remember is thisOwners and purposes changebased on team approach.

For example, the owner of the sprint backlog in Scrum is the delivery team.

Who makes the final decision on prioritizing the product portfolio?

In the crowd, theProduct Owner (PO)is the only person responsible for prioritizing the stories within the product portfolio.

Although the PO makes the final decision on prioritizing the Product Backlog, this does not mean that the Product Owner is alone in this task. You can ask for any help you need.

It would be better if you understand that the owner of the product is aLawyerfor the customer

The more they understand the client's needs, the better their project will be in terms ofcost effectivenessjsustainability.

they shouldmaintain close contact with your customersto collect all necessary information on how you would like this new product, or aspecial featuredevelop.

The exchange with other stakeholders can also give them an idea: there should be no surprises in the development.

All it takes is one big change request at an expensive time close to the release date to set things back weeks, if not months, without prior planning.

The Product Owner is the only person responsible for deciding on prioritiesat the end of the day.For this reason, you should never have multiple product owners.

There must be a single point of truth for decisions: the product owner.

So then,Where does the Scrum Master fall into all of this?

Think aboutScrum Master as team leader.

Prima:Click here to understand a scum team.

have to stayimpartial in all aspects of product designand decision-making, yet reject any obstacles that might impede a productive workflow in the project.

they are likemoderatorsTherefore. They cannot play favorites with their teammates or interfere in disagreements about the best course of action.

Suppose they venture too far into these kinds of discussions. In this case, it will only serve as an obstacle when trying to solve problems with your colleagues.

Your time would now be split between two responsibilities instead of just one.

The Scrum Master will always help the Product Owner with this. However, you will not be involved in the final decision.

Preventing the Scrum Master from prioritizing is the same logic as why aproject managerand a Scrum Master should never be the same person.

Many companies will try this because they want to performagile practice without changetheir old values, processes or organizations. But that's not how it works.

How long is the product backlog?

The product portfolio exists and changes throughout product development.

Is lasts for the life of the product.

Who can order the items in the product portfolio?

Product Owner bestellen Product Backlogs.

work with himaffected parties,the development team,and the Scrum teamPlanning and analyzing work.

IsPO and Scrum Team need to work togetherto give the development team an appropriate plan for the product backlog.

What characterizes a good product portfolio?

Below are the four characteristics of a good product portfolio.

You can keep the acronymDEEPkeep in mind and understand if your product portfolio fits.

Appropriately detailed

One ofcriticalCharacteristics of a good product portfolio is that it will bedetailed enough.

Items in the product backlog that you need to address later have less detail than the prioritized ones.

emerging

The product portfolio is a constantdeveloping document.Teams and product owners can add items and othersrelevante Informationevery time they find out.

You can also decide to change or remove some things.

If the product portfolio you are working on changes, that is the mark of a good product portfolio.

Estimated

A good product portfolio should be availablea significant size estimate. And this estimate should relate to the effort that the team needs to put into its development.

In this way, the product owner can easilyVisualize, estimate and prioritize the itemor.

For example, the items in the team's portfolio that are prioritized are small.

prioritized

A single Product Backlog should be a collection of multiple Product Backlog items. But in this case, you shouldn't put every item in the Product Backlog on top.

When such a situation arises, it is best to take with you the product elements you need for your launch. Don't focus on the other items in the product portfolio.

This way you save time and canfocus on your priorities.

How do you assess the product portfolio?

Estimating a product backlog helps product owners and teams reanalyze the items in the backlog.

You can use the following three estimation methods to estimate product backlog.

Pokerplanung

As the name suggests, this Product Backlog Estimate is also fun to work with.

Once you have onerating scaleGather your team members instead. Now deal each of them the leaderboard cards.

Read aloud the product backlog item you need to rank for. Each team member selects the map and sorts the items. But they won't disclose it until the product owner gives a notification.

Once everyone has chosen their rating for that item, the team reveals the cards.

If the estimates are similar, the group has agreed to that status.

However, if the selected estimates differ, the team needs to address them further.

command

Another estimate of the product backlog is the order.

Each team member takes a card that has a specific portfolio item printed on it. Then they put it on the desk.

The team then places the items on each side of the desk, taking into account how the team member views them.

One side of the desktop will display high priority items. Conversely, the other side will have the lower priority items.

Then the other team member also takes a card from the deck and places it anywhere. You can also move the existing map to either side.

Once all the cards are stacked on the deck and all members have agreed on their positions, assign a number to the backlog items. This number is assigned using theFibonacci Scales.

Rank the items starting with the bottom cards. For example, give the smallest item the number 1, and if you move to the other side of the desk, the estimate would be 3, 4, 5, and so on.

unique method

One of the unique ways to estimate product backlog depends on the jerseys you wear.

Surprised?no seas

Estimating this method is very simple.

Here's how you can do it: You can estimate the Product Backlog item by size S, M, L, XL, XXL, etc.

This method is useful if you areuncertain in numerical estimatesOr are you still thinking about the project?

Note, however, that you cannot use this estimate to the end. Once you're comfortable using the numbers, convert these jersey sizes to one of the estimates above.

Who creates the estimate for a Product Backlog Item?

Isdevelopment teamo The DT is responsible for all estimates in the product portfolio.

But the DT must consult and discuss the product backlog items with the owner.

What techniques are there for prioritizing the product portfolio?

REIS:

The RICE scoring model is a prioritization frameworkdesigned to help product managersDetermine which products, features, and other initiatives make the cut.You can provide the RICE score by ranking these articles by four factors.

The factors that form the acronym RICE are:

• To reach(the number of clients that would use this function)
• impact(by how much it will improve your company's results or revenue)
• Trust(the belief in our ability to meet that estimate)
• efforts(resource requirements for development time/costs)

Using such a rating system can offer companies three main benefits:

1. qualificationbetter informed decisionsby less biased decision makers.
2. Helpdefense optionswhen interviewed by managers.
3. reducing the riskinvolved in new ideas being introduced into already risky environments.

Moscow method:

The MoSCoW method is a frameworkforCommunicate effectively with key stakeholderswhat and why you are working on specific features.

Moscowrepresentshould have (required), should have (preferable but not required),would have (possibly advantageousor advantageous),won't get it now.

It is usually used bywaterfall basedHowever, it can work better in agile environments when time constraints make it difficult to complete the entire project at once.

It helps critical stakeholders understand which backlog items to focus on most, saving time and energy by categorizing them more efficiently.

Value vs Effort

The value versus cost prioritization methodHelpsimplifyall enumerate different characteristics and initiatives.

It quantifies them with value and cost values ​​to determine their place in the matrix accordingly.

Value vs Effortprioritization methodis a great opportunity for organizationsUse your resources in the most effective way.

In addition, he remains true to the company's values ​​and goals while delivering on promises to customers. All of these, if done correctly, will result in increased revenue or growth.

Features are classified byhow much value they offerin relation to the implementation effort.

CanMeasure it by ROI (Return on Investment)or the total cost per feature to full development. You can choose what seems most appropriate given the specific circumstances.

1-2-3 Later

The Product Owner reviews all items in the Product Backlog.3 times.

The first time they try to find the most important item to work on next and set it aside while inspecting other items in a similar fashion.

You repeat this process two more times, each new batch of options being checked in pairs (one from the previous batches).

Finally, they return to where we started: back to the original list. However, now she organizes it based on the urgency of completion.

This technique would be best to useif there are fewer than 25 backorder items in total.

Simple ordering of two factors

First, the product owner assigns each item a business value from 0 to 5; higher numbers mean they are more valuable to the company.

This person then takes responsibility for them and asks for their help, dividing them into two groups:

1. small enoughso it can be completed in less than a day if everyone crowds in;
2. everything else istoo big or unsafeabout fitting into the time frame.

The Product Owner analyzes everyone who fits the first category based on their score. Then arrange them and fill in what is missing.

The Product Owner should only focus on the items in the "few enough' for this disambiguation work.

Leave the other items in an almost random order. It helps make prioritization decisions easier when many options have the same business value. Such a technique works well when there is an in between20 and 50 items in the product portfolio.

These techniques require some consideration when multiple items within a category have the same commercial value.

However, it is advisable not to worry too much about them. That is, as long as you place the items in "few" Size. Small size usually meansless than twenty

Prima:Click here to understand and define the purpose of a product.

FIFO with expedited shipments

With this technique, the items of the product portfolio are preservedsorted by request.

The only exception is that the Product Owner can move a set number at the beginning of each Sprint.

In addition, items at the top can be removed when completed or deemed irrelevant. This process works forany size and quantity.

However, all entries must be small enough to be completed in one sprint.

Product accumulation examples

Let's take a look at goal-based product backlog examples.

A product portfolio structured according to goals is also referred to astargeted backlog. It focuses on theproduct targetand divides it into sub-functions.

The two benefits you can get from a goal-driven backlog are:

• Teams can spend more time on itbusiness value.You can update and improve related features of a product.
  
• Since the goals are visible every day, teams feel themresponsiblefor working for her. You can create measurable feedback scores to determine if the team is on the right track.

Sprint-Backlog vs. Produkt-Backlog

IsSprint backlogIt is aplan in the short termfor teamwork.

The product portfolio is along-term plandetermined by the services that make your products more valuable.

Many people may think that these two tasks are interdependent. This is not always the case, however, as the two can actually be different approaches.

Although histhe goals are the same, they often become part of each other.

The product portfolio isa container for essential workthat keeps your company active in the market competition.

It can also change frequently as items are added or removed regularly. It is usually more prominent than the sprint setup because of thishigher granularity(minus things broken down below user story levels).

The Product Owner monitors this list, mainly unassigned tasks.

These unassigned tasks are scheduled to ensure there is always something new popping up so customers never get bored.

On the other hand, theSprint backlogIt's a container for the work items that the team needs to get done as part of their next sprint.

It is the outcome of the meeting where they decide what work will be done over the next week and month, which usually takes one to four weeks.

You generate the content for these sprints based on the agreed user stories.

But if necessary, you can also includeBugs and refactoring tasks(which makes the code more efficient).

Finally,Software for product managersifchiselHelp teams organize andPrioritize your product portfolio.

Click here to request a demo session with Chisel.

It is asimple but powerful toolThis makes it easier to collaborate with your team members on the back end of a project or initiative.

Conintuitive features like Kanban boards, you can easily see what tasks are due next and whether they are done or not.

Best of all, Chisel is free forever! Try it.