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Product Backlog
- The Product Backlog is a list of all the requirements needed in product development and is also the single source of the requirement for changes to be made in the product.
- It lists all features, functions, requirement, enhancement and fixes that constitute, the changes to be made to the product in a future release.
- The contents to the Product Backlog can be added by the stakeholders or the team members. Hence it is a list that constantly evolves and grows and changes to match the needs of the product.
- The contents of the Product Backlog item are constantly reprioritized by the Product Owner and is kept visible to all stakeholders. This is maintained mainly during the Backlog Refinement Meeting.
- The Product Backlog is often ordered by value risk, priority and necessity.
- It is visible to all stakeholders.
- Any stakeholder (including the Team) can add items
- Items at top are more granular than items at bottom
Product Backlog Item
- Specifies the what more than the how of a customer-centric feature
- Often written in User Story form
- Has a product-wide definition of done to prevent technical debt
- May have item-specific acceptance criteria
- Effort is estimated by the team, ideally in relative units (e.g., story points)
- Effort is roughly 2-3 people 2-3 days or smaller for advanced teams
Sprint Backlog
- Consists of committed PBIs negotiated between the team and the Product Owner during the Sprint Planning Meeting
- Scope commitment is fixed during Sprint Execution
- Initial tasks are identified by the team during Sprint Planning Meeting
- Team will discover additional tasks needed to meet the fixed scope
- commitment during Sprint Execution
- Visible to the team
- Referenced during the Daily Scrum Meeting
Sprint Task
- Specifies how to achieve the PBI’s what
- Requires one day or less of work
- Remaining effort is re-estimated daily, typically in hours
- During Sprint Execution, a point person may volunteer to be primarily responsible for a task
- Owned by the entire team; collaboration is expected
Product / Release Burndown Chart
- Tracks the remaining Product Backlog effort from one Sprint to the next
- May use relative units such as Story Points for Y axis
- Depicts historical trends to adjust forecasts
Sprint Burndown Chart
- The Sprint Burndown Chart is a Scrum artifact that comprises of the tasks and the hours remaining to achieve a Sprint Goal. The ‘x-axis’ might represent the tasks and the ‘y-axis’, the time. The purpose of Sprint Burndown Charts is to enhance team self-organization and is in no way a management report.
- It Indicates total remaining team task hours within one sprint.
- Re-estimated daily, thus may go up before going down.
- Intended to facilitate team self-organization.