Manage a Product Backlog

Create, prioritize, and maintain a backlog of work items that serves as the single source of truth for what needs to be done, applicable to both agile and classic project methodologies.

When to Use

• Starting a new project and converting scope into actionable items
• Ongoing backlog grooming before sprint planning
• Re-prioritizing work after stakeholder feedback or scope changes
• Splitting oversized items into implementable pieces
• Reviewing and archiving completed or cancelled items

Inputs

• Required: Project scope (from charter, WBS, or stakeholder input)
• Optional: Existing backlog file (BACKLOG.md) to update
• Optional: Prioritization framework preference (MoSCoW, value/effort, WSJF)
• Optional: Estimation scale (story points, T-shirt sizes, person-days)
• Optional: Sprint or iteration feedback requiring backlog updates

Procedure

Step 1: Create or Load Backlog Structure

If no backlog exists, create BACKLOG.md with standard columns. If one exists, read and validate structure.

# Product Backlog: [Project Name]
## Last Updated: [YYYY-MM-DD]

### Summary
- **Total Items**: [N]
- **Ready for Sprint**: [N]
- **In Progress**: [N]
- **Done**: [N]
- **Cancelled**: [N]

### Backlog Items
| ID | Title | Type | Priority | Estimate | Status | Sprint |
|----|-------|------|----------|----------|--------|--------|
| B-001 | [Title] | Feature | Must | 5 | Ready | — |
| B-002 | [Title] | Bug | Should | 2 | Ready | — |
| B-003 | [Title] | Task | Could | 3 | New | — |

### Item Details

#### B-001: [Title]
- **Type**: Feature | Bug | Task | Spike | Tech Debt
- **Priority**: Must | Should | Could | Won't
- **Estimate**: [Points or size]
- **Status**: New | Ready | In Progress | Done | Cancelled
- **Acceptance Criteria**:
  - [ ] [Criterion 1]
  - [ ] [Criterion 2]
- **Notes**: [Context, links, dependencies]

#### B-002: [Title]
...

Expected: BACKLOG.md exists with valid structure and summary statistics.

On failure: If the file is malformed, restructure it preserving existing item data.

Step 2: Write or Refine Items

For each new item, write it as a user story or requirement:

• User story format: "As a [role], I want [capability] so that [benefit]"
• Requirement format: "[System/Component] shall [behavior] when [condition]"

Each item must have:

• Unique ID (B-NNN, incrementing)
• Clear title (imperative verb form)
• Type classification
• At least 2 acceptance criteria (testable, binary pass/fail)

Example:

#### B-005: Enable User Login with OAuth
- **Type**: Feature
- **Priority**: Must
- **Estimate**: 5
- **Status**: Ready
- **Acceptance Criteria**:
  - [ ] User can log in using GitHub OAuth
  - [ ] User session persists for 24 hours
  - [ ] Failed login shows clear error message
- **Notes**: Requires OAuth app registration in GitHub

Expected: All items have titles, types, and acceptance criteria.

On failure: Items without acceptance criteria are marked Status: New (not Ready). They cannot enter a sprint.

Step 3: Prioritize Using MoSCoW or Value/Effort

Apply the chosen prioritization framework:

MoSCoW (default):

• Must: Project fails without this. Non-negotiable.
• Should: Important but project can succeed without it. Include if capacity allows.
• Could: Nice to have. Include only if no impact on Must/Should items.
• Won't: Explicitly excluded from current scope. Documented for future consideration.

Value/Effort Matrix (alternative):

	Low Effort	High Effort
High Value	Do First (Quick Wins)	Do Second (Big Bets)
Low Value	Do Third (Fill-ins)	Don't Do (Money Pits)

Sort the backlog table: Must items first (by value within Must), then Should, then Could.

Expected: Every item has a priority. Backlog is sorted by priority.

On failure: If stakeholders disagree on priorities, escalate Must vs Should decisions to the project sponsor.

Step 4: Groom — Split, Estimate, and Refine

Review items for sprint-readiness. For each item:

1. Split if estimate > 8 points (or > 1 week effort): decompose into 2-4 smaller items
2. Estimate using the project's chosen scale
3. Refine vague acceptance criteria into testable conditions
4. Mark Ready when the item has title, acceptance criteria, estimate, and no blockers

Document splitting:

**Split**: B-003 split into B-003a, B-003b, B-003c (original archived)

#### B-003a: Set Up Database Schema
- **Type**: Task
- **Priority**: Must
- **Estimate**: 3
- **Status**: Ready
- **Acceptance Criteria**:
  - [ ] Users table created with email, name fields
  - [ ] Migrations run successfully on dev environment

#### B-003b: Implement User CRUD Operations
- **Type**: Task
- **Priority**: Must
- **Estimate**: 5
- **Status**: Ready
- **Acceptance Criteria**:
  - [ ] Create user endpoint returns 201 with user object
  - [ ] Update user endpoint validates required fields

Expected: All Must and Should items are in Ready status.

On failure: Items that can't be estimated need a Spike (time-boxed research task) added to the backlog.

Step 5: Update Summary and Archive

Update the summary statistics. Move Done and Cancelled items to an archive section:

### Archive
| ID | Title | Status | Sprint | Completed |
|----|-------|--------|--------|-----------|
| B-001 | Enable User Login with OAuth | Done | S-003 | 2025-03-15 |
| B-004 | Add Dark Mode Theme | Cancelled | — | 2025-03-10 |

Update the summary by counting items in each status:

# Count Ready items
grep "| Ready |" BACKLOG.md | wc -l

# Count In Progress items
grep "| In Progress |" BACKLOG.md | wc -l

# Count Done items
grep "| Done |" BACKLOG.md | wc -l

Expected: Summary statistics match actual item counts. Archive section contains all closed items.

On failure: If counts don't match, recount by grepping Status values and update the summary manually.

Validation

• BACKLOG.md exists with standard structure
• Every item has a unique ID, title, type, priority, and status
• All Must and Should items have acceptance criteria
• Items are sorted by priority (Must first, then Should, then Could)
• No item estimated at > 8 points without being split
• Summary statistics are accurate
• Done/Cancelled items are archived

Common Pitfalls

• No acceptance criteria: Items without criteria can't be verified as done. Every item needs at least 2 testable criteria.
• Everything is Must priority: If >50% of items are Must, priorities are not real. Force-rank within Must.
• Zombie items: Items sitting in the backlog for months without progress should be re-evaluated or cancelled.
• Estimates without context: Story points are relative — a team must have a reference item (e.g., "B-001 is our 3-point reference").
• Splitting creates fragments: When splitting, ensure each child item is independently deliverable and valuable.
• Backlog as dumping ground: The backlog is not a wish list. Regularly prune items that no longer align with project goals.
• Missing dependencies: Note blocking items in the Notes field. A blocked item should not be marked Ready.

Related Skills

• draft-project-charter — charter scope feeds initial backlog creation
• create-work-breakdown-structure — WBS work packages can become backlog items
• plan-sprint — sprint planning selects from the top of the backlog
• generate-status-report — backlog burn-down feeds status reports
• conduct-retrospective — retrospective improvement items feed back into the backlog