Manage a Product Backlog

Create, prioritize, maintain backlog of work items = single source of truth for what needs doing. Applicable agile + classic PM.

Use When

• Start new project → convert scope → actionable items
• Ongoing grooming before sprint planning
• Re-prioritize after stakeholder feedback / scope changes
• Split oversized items
• Review + archive completed / cancelled

In

• Req: Project scope (charter, WBS, stakeholder)
• Opt: Existing BACKLOG.md to update
• Opt: Framework pref (MoSCoW, value/effort, WSJF)
• Opt: Estimation scale (pts, T-shirt, person-days)
• Opt: Sprint/iteration feedback requiring updates

Do

Step 1: Create / Load Structure

No backlog → create BACKLOG.md w/ std cols. Exists → read + validate.

# 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]
...

→ BACKLOG.md w/ valid structure + summary stats.

If err: Malformed → restructure preserving existing item data.

Step 2: Write / Refine Items

Each new item as user story / requirement:

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

Each item needs:

• Unique ID (B-NNN, incrementing)
• Clear title (imperative verb form)
• Type classification
• ≥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

→ All items have titles, types, acceptance criteria.

If err: No acceptance criteria → Status: New (not Ready). Can't enter sprint.

Step 3: Prioritize (MoSCoW / Value-Effort)

MoSCoW (default):

• Must: Project fails without. Non-negotiable.
• Should: Important but project succeeds without. Include if capacity.
• Could: Nice to have. Only if no impact on Must/Should.
• Won't: Explicitly excluded. Documented for future.

Value/Effort Matrix (alt):

	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 table: Must first (by value within Must), Should, Could.

→ Every item has priority. Backlog sorted by priority.

If err: Stakeholders disagree on priorities → escalate Must vs Should to sponsor.

Step 4: Groom — Split, Estimate, Refine

Review for sprint-readiness. Per item:

1. Split if estimate > 8 pts (or > 1 week) → 2-4 smaller
2. Estimate using chosen scale
3. Refine vague criteria → testable conditions
4. Mark Ready when has title, criteria, estimate, 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

→ All Must + Should → Ready.

If err: Can't estimate → need Spike (time-boxed research task) in backlog.

Step 5: Update Summary + Archive

Update summary stats. Move Done + Cancelled → archive:

### 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 summary by counting per 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

→ Stats match actual counts. Archive has all closed items.

If err: Counts don't match → recount by grepping Status + update summary manually.

Check

• BACKLOG.md w/ std structure
• Every item has unique ID, title, type, priority, status
• All Must + Should have criteria
• Items sorted by priority (Must, Should, Could)
• No item > 8 pts w/o split
• Summary stats accurate
• Done/Cancelled archived

Traps

• No acceptance criteria: Items w/o criteria can't verify done. Every item ≥2 testable criteria.
• Everything Must: >50% Must → priorities not real. Force-rank within Must.
• Zombie items: Sitting months w/o progress → re-evaluate / cancel.
• Estimates w/o ctx: Story pts relative → team needs ref item (e.g., "B-001 = our 3-pt reference").
• Splitting creates fragments: Split → each child indep deliverable + valuable.
• Backlog as dumping ground: Not wish list. Prune items no longer aligned.
• Missing deps: Note blocking in Notes. Blocked item ≠ Ready.

→

• draft-project-charter — charter scope → initial backlog creation
• create-work-breakdown-structure — WBS work pkgs → backlog items
• plan-sprint — sprint planning selects from top of backlog
• generate-status-report — backlog burn-down → status reports
• conduct-retrospective — retro improvement items → backlog