The Product Backlog is a prioritized list of all the features, enhancements, bug fixes, and other work needed to deliver a product. In other words, product backlog is the wish list of features that may get into the final product. The Product Backlog is managed and owned by the Product Owner.
Key Characteristics of a Product Backlog:
- Product backlog contains all the features that must be developed to complete the product
- It can contain new features, enhancements and defect fixes
- Product backlog is maintained by the product owner
- The entries in the product backlog are one liners. Example : As a user, I must be able to create a user id and password’
- The product backlog is continuously groomed
- Prioritised (based on risk, value, theme)
- Elaborated (user stories, Use (case diagrmas)
- Estimated (by the team, especially during the sprint planning)
- Some of the product backlog entries are too big to be estimated. They are known as Epics. Epics need to be decomposed further into stories, before they can be estimated
- Product backlog is allowed to grow indefinitely
Overall, the Product Backlog is a fundamental tool in Scrum for managing and prioritizing the work needed to deliver a product, ensuring that the team focuses on the most valuable work and delivers incremental value to the stakeholders.