How a Scrum backlog increases team effectiveness
Exploring the sprint and product backlogs.
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Leaning Scrum for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. There are many new terms and concepts in Scrum. The backlog is one of those terms, and you may be wondering:
What is the backlog, and how is it used in Scrum?
Well, there are actually two backlogs in Scrum. And I’ll walk through both of them and why they matter in this article as we cover:
- The two backlogs in scrum
- How the backlogs impact teamwork
- Using the backlog with multiple teams
Sprint backlog vs product backlog.
Let’s talk about the backlogs. A backlog is a prioritized collection of items, PBIs, for the Scrum team, each representing value the team could add to the product. These two backlogs organize the primary work of the team.
A good product backlog is shaped like an iceberg: small items at the top, big items below there, and who knows what under the waterline. A good product backlog is shaped like an iceberg: small items at the top, big items below there, and who knows what under the waterline.
- Mountain Goat Software
The Product Backlog
The product backlog prioritizes the features needed in the product. It creates clarity by serving as the singular visible source of requirements for the product. It is visible both to the members of the Scrum team and the whole organization.
These requirements often take the form of user stories. As the requirements are refined, they are given success criteria for quality assurance and story points for estimating size.
The product owner is responsible for curating the product backlog. This curation is the focus of the backlog refinement session and happens continually as more is learned about the product being developed.
The product owner has the final say in the ordering and thus the prioritization of the backlog. Having the backlog as the singular source of truth for what work should be done and what is priority provides enormous clarity and focus for the team.
There are no ties, and if one item is higher than the other, it’s more important.
The development team reviews the user stories from the product backlog during sprint planning. Because the product owner keeps the backlog up to date and prioritized, the development team stays focused on the top of the backlog.
With the sprint goal as guidance, the team selects stories to complete during the next sprint. At this point, they move stories from the product backlog to the sprint backlog.
The Sprint Backlog
The sprint backlog represents the work to do in a given sprint. It is a definitive list, meaning the team doesn’t do any work during the sprint outside of what’s in the sprint backlog. This restraint provides protection for the team to focus on the work given to that sprint.
The development team pulls stories from the sprint backlog throughout the sprint and works them until completion. A team member shouldn’t select more work from the sprint backlog until they complete the work already pulled.
At the end of the sprint, the sprint backlog should be empty. During the sprint review, the team presents completed stories for approval. Any incomplete stories or new stories are added to the product backlog, and the cycle repeats, selecting new stories and moving them to the sprint backlog.
The backlogs are critical to effective teamwork in Scrum.
These two backlogs play essential roles for the Scrum team by providing clarity and safety for the team.
Have you ever asked a leader about the priorities, and they said something like, “It’s all top priority!” The order of the backlog sets the priority. There are no ties, and if one item is higher than the other, it’s more important. This clarity about priority empowers the team because they know they are doing the right work.
Having the backlog as the singular source of truth for what work should be done and what is priority provides enormous clarity and focus for the team.
If someone outside the team disagrees with the order of the backlog items, they can take it up with the product owner. This clarity of responsibility frees the team from burning time and focus on unnecessary debates.
The backlog items are usually written using a user story format. “As a… I want… So that…” This format identifies who they are building a feature for, what need it meets and what overall goal it achieves for the customer. This clarity of purpose equips team members to create value that doesn’t just check the box but makes a difference for the end-user.
I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating. The sprint backlog is all the team needs to focus on during a sprint. This clarity of focus provides a safe, closed environment that invites creativity, collaboration and innovative problem-solving.
Related Guides
How does the backlog work with multiple teams?
Sometimes you will have more than one team working on a product. So how do you order the work? A single product should have a single product backlog, visible to any team working on the product.
However, each team should have its own sprint backlog, defining the team's work during the sprint. All teams will coordinate to pull items from the same product backlog into their different sprint backlogs during sprint planning.
Be mindful of dependencies between requirements selected by different teams. Ideally, if two requirements have dependencies or exceptionally tight integration, both requirements are selected by the same team.
All the teams must share the same definitions of done to ensure the work produced can be integrated together into the product. Teams will likely need to add additional items to the definition of done to keep the development in sync.
During the sprint review, as work is accepted, the Scrum team must take care to ensure the integration of all team's completed work into the product.
If you are trying to implement this on a scale beyond two Scrum teams, I suggest you look into the Nexus framework. It’s produced by the same people you run scrum.org, and gives a process framework for running Scrum at scale.
In the framework, each team functions as a Scrum team with its own Scrum Master. There are some additional roles and meetings that account for the additional coordination and integration of working at scale.
Leaning Scrum for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. There are many new terms and concepts in Scrum.
Well we’re here to help.
Related Guides
Next steps for applying Scrum.
There are a lot of new terms when learning the Scrum essentials, and I hope this post helped clear up some of the scrum vocabulary.
Action Plan
If you want to learn more about Scrum in general, check out my What is Scrum? A Guide for Everyday People to Learn Scrum. If you have more questions, please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn.
Still not sure about your next step with Scrum? I offer a couple of free coaching sessions each month. You can signup for a free 30 -minute coaching session, and we can work together to identify a good next step for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scrum backlog
What is the backlog in Scrum?
There are actually two backlogs, the product backlog and the sprint backlog. They each contain the definitive list of work to be done. The product owner keeps the backlog ordered by priority.
Learn to use the backlog in Scrum and check out the sprint backlog vs product backlog in Scrum.
How are the product backlog and sprint backlog different?
The product backlog prioritizes the features needed in the product. It is a singular visible source of requirements for the product.
The sprint backlog represents the work to do in a given sprint. It is a definitive list of all the scrum team is being asked to produce for the sprint.
Learn more about the sprint backlog vs product backlog in Scrum.
What is a PBI (product backlog item)?
Each item in the backlog represents precise work and value to deliver. Often these PBIs are written using both user stories and acceptance criteria. The PBIs are what gets refined during the backlog refinement session, and if one is too large, it may be broken down into smaller PBIs.
Learn more about how backlogs are used in scrum, the sprint backlog vs product backlog in Scrum and explore the essential Scrum glossary.
What is the Scrum sprint backlog?
The Scrum sprint backlog is a prioritized list of items from the product backlog that the development team plans to complete during the upcoming sprint.
It is a plan for the Sprint and is created during the Sprint Planning meeting where the Development Team decides on how to build the functionality that meets the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog typically includes user stories, bugs, technical work, and other items that the development team needs to work on during the sprint. Each item in the Sprint Backlog has a clear definition of done, so the team knows when the item is considered complete.
The Development Team is responsible for creating and updating their Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, making sure they are on track to meet the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog is a working document that helps the Development Team visualize their progress and make any necessary adjustments to their plan as they go along. The Sprint Backlog is also transparent, allowing stakeholders to see what work is being done during the Sprint.
Learn more about the backlogs of Scrum.
What is the Scrum product backlog?
In Scrum, the product backlog is a prioritized list of features, bugs, technical work, and other product-related items that need to be addressed by the development team.
It serves as a single source of truth for what needs to be done on the product.
The items in the product backlog are ordered based on their importance to the product owner and the value they bring to the end-user. As the project progresses, the product backlog is constantly updated to reflect new priorities, changes in requirements, and feedback from stakeholders.
The product backlog is a living document that evolves throughout the project's lifecycle. It provides transparency and enables collaboration among all members of the Scrum team.
Learn more about the backlogs in Scrum.
Scrum elements
What is the definition of done?
The definition of done is a list of what must be true to consider a PBI done. The whole team creates and agrees to what is in the definition of done and is updated as needed for the team to function effectively.
Learn to use the definition of done and explore acceptance criteria vs definition of done.
What is the increment in scrum?
It is the next complete piece added to build the product. The increment is complete in the sense that it should be ready to release to the end-user even if the team chooses to wait.
Learn more about incremental and iterative development or explore the essential Scrum glossary.
Scrum design
What are the three pillars of Scrum?
Scrum is founded on three essential pillars, and each leads the team to ask a critical question.
- Transparency. How does this make things more visible?
- Inspection. Where does this create space to evaluate?
- Adaptation. When does this encourage growth?
Learn how to apply the three pillars of Scrum and then explore the most common terms in a Scrum glossary.
What are the values of Scrum?
There are five values critical to the practice of Scrum: commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect.
- Commit to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team.
- Courage to do the right thing and work on challenging problems.
- Focus on the Sprint's work and the Scrum Team's goals.
- Open about all the work and the challenges with performing the work.
- Respect each other to be capable, independent people
Learn how to align Scrum values with your organization and then explore the most common terms in a Scrum glossary.
What is the sprint goal in scrum?
The sprint goal encapsulates the product owner’s vision into a concrete statement for the development team to measure the sprint against. The sprint goal provides a theme for the sprint’s work helping the team see how all the parts come together.
Learn more about the role of the sprint goal in scrum and explore the essential Scrum glossary.
How to use Scrum
Why use Scrum?
It forces clarity and prioritization, which provides the focus necessary for teams to be effective. Scrum embraces complexity and change by keeping many things simple and iteratively evaluating and adapting.
You can learn more about why to use Scrum and three challenges Scrum solves. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
When does Scrum not work well?
Scrum isn’t always the best option for teams. Scrum can fail when there is a substantial mismatch between organizational culture and the Scrum values. It also depends on the nature of the work you do. If you work if very linear, predictable and tightly defined, you may not experience many benefits Scrum provides.
Find out more about aligning your organizational values with Scrum or how Scrum might fit in your context. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
How do I know when to use Scrum?
Scrum functions at its best when you have a dedicated team focused on developing a singular product. Its agility shines when there are time constraints combined with uncertainty.
Explore the pros and cons of Scrum along with expectations vs. realities with Scrum. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
