What we need to do for managing a Product backlog
Hello everyone,
I would like to ask a question relate to Product backlog management.
According to Scrum Guide, Product Backlog management includes bellow activities:
- Clearly expressing Product Backlog items;
- Ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions;
- Optimizing the value of the work the Development Team performs;
- Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next; and,
- Ensuring the Development Team understands items in the Product Backlog to the level needed.
(Scrum Guide)
However, in the actual, some kind of works such as: estimating the effort (1), reducing or eliminating dependencies between Product Backlog items (2), checking the Product Backlog with stakeholders (3), breaking down a big Product Backlog items into multiple smaller Product Backlog items.
Are they included in Product Backlog management also?
Hello.
I think that that 1 and 3 are activities underlying the product backlog management. They are a resultant of optimizing the value, and ensuring the Dev Team understands (and teh PO as well because the refinement of PBI is collaborative). even though the estimating is not needed in the #noestimates movement.
However the expression checking the Product Backlog with stakeholders seems a little inappropriate to me, because the Product Backlog for me is presented for transparency, maybe discussed. But as the PO is accountable for the Product Backlog, the final word is only him and not the stakeholders. if they don't "want to check", the PO still can check, because he should have the clearer view of the product on a strategic level.
However, in the actual, some kind of works such as: estimating the effort (1), reducing or eliminating dependencies between Product Backlog items (2), checking the Product Backlog with stakeholders (3), breaking down a big Product Backlog items into multiple smaller Product Backlog items.
Are they included in Product Backlog management also?
What do you think all the above activities will help the PBIs to be ready enough to be taken into sprints ? Does all these 3 tasks fulfill what the product management needs (as you mentioned above from guide) ?
All 3 of the items you listed are what I would consider to be part of the Product Backlog refinement activities which is part of managing the backlog. The Scrum Guide provides a list but in the end use your common sense. If the activity is contributing to providing a Product Backlog that is ordered in such a manner that will maximize the work being done by the Development Team to provide iterative value in the product for the stakeholder it is part of Product Backlog management.
So does forecasting the effort of product backlog items fall under this category?