6 Steps to Effectively Manage Product Backlog

Part 5 of my 7 part training series on Foundational Scrum Master skills

Oct 05, 2023

∙ Paid

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Welcome to part 5 of our series on Skills For A Foundational Scrum Master. Here’s where we are at:

Part 1: 9 Steps to master facilitation skills

Part 2: Coaching Model and Mindset For Scrum Masters

Part 3: How to approach and resolve team conflicts

Part 4: How to skillfully communicate with your team

Part 5: Backlog management skills ←Current post

Part 6: High-performing team-building skills

Part 7: Skills to manage stakeholders

Backlog Management Vs Backlog Refinement

In simple words, Backlog Refinement is a small part of Backlog Management.

Backlog Refinement

Product Backlog Refinement or PBR focuses on refining and detailing product backlog items (PBIs) to ensure they're ready for upcoming (near-term) sprints.

The primary goal of PBR is to make sure user stories adhere to the INVEST criteria (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable). This ensures that each story is well-understood, appropriately sized, and actionable.

Key Activities involve:

breaking down user stories,
adding acceptance criteria,
ensuring stories are independent and can be estimated and tested.

Backlog Management

This is the overarching process of overseeing and guiding the entire backlog, ensuring it aligns with the product vision and objectives.

It addresses the overall health of the backlog, ensuring it's a strategic reflection of the product's direction and encompasses both short-term and long-term goals.

Key Activities involve:

adding new items,
prioritizing based on product strategy,
removing outdated items, and
refining specific items (refinement)

And this is where most teams get confused. They have no idea where to start this management of the backlog.

What all needs to be done?
What needs to be done first?
What techniques will help speed up the process?
What doesn’t need to be done?

This post is all about removing this confusion by equipping you with a

“6-Step Strategy”

that will help you help your team Manage Product Backlog effectively and efficiently.