Tame your Backlog Beast — Backlog Management

Is Backlog Management a skill or a superpower?

Hello everyone, welcome back for reading about the second technique , i.e., Backlog Management, in business analysis toolbox! This is my fav technique :)

If you missed first technique, Decision Analysis. Read here.

Backlog management is the process of documenting, tracking, and prioritizing the remaining work items in a project or a product development. A backlog is a list of tasks that need to be done to deliver value to the stakeholders. A backlog can contain different types of items, such as user stories, functional requirements, non-functional requirements, designs, defects, change requests, etc.

Use of Backlog Management

Backlog Management help business analysts to:

1. Align the work items with the strategic goals and vision of the project or product.
2. Communicate the expectations, scope and priorities to the development team and the stakeholders.
3. Prioritize the work items based on value, urgency, and dependencies.
4. Keep track of the progress and status of the work items.
5. Manage the scope and changes in the project or product.
6. Optimize the resources and delivery time.
7. Adapt to changing requirements and feedback.

How to Manage Backlog Effectively?

Create and Maintain a Backlog

We need to identify and document the work items that are valuable for the stakeholders and add them to the backlog. We can use different sources to create a backlog, such as elicitation techniques, stakeholder feedback, market research, etc. We also need to update the backlog regularly to reflect any changes or new information.

Prioritize the Backlog

We need to rank the work items in the backlog according to their importance and urgency. We can use different criteria to prioritize a backlog, such as business value, risk, dependency, effort, etc. We can also use different techniques to prioritize a backlog, such as MoSCoW, Kano model, value vs effort matrix, etc.

Estimate the Backlog

We need to estimate the size and complexity of the work items in the backlog. We can use different units to measure a backlog, such as story points, hours, days, etc. We can also use different techniques to estimate a backlog, such as planning poker, t-shirt sizing, affinity estimation, etc.

Review and Refine the Backlog

We need to review the backlog periodically with the team and the stakeholders to ensure that it is accurate, complete, and relevant. We also need to refine the backlog by adding more details, splitting large items into smaller ones, removing obsolete items, etc.

Select and Deliver the Backlog

We need to select the work items from the top of the prioritized backlog that can be delivered in a given time frame (such as a sprint or an iteration). We also need to deliver the work items according to the agreed quality standards and acceptance criteria.

Benefits of Backlog Management Technique

Backlog Management has many benefits for Business Analysts, such as:

1. It helps them focus on the most important and valuable work items.
2. It helps them collaborate effectively with different stakeholders.
3. It helps them manage changes and uncertainties.
4. It helps them deliver high-quality products or services.

However, these benefits are not without the limitations.

Challenges of Backlog Management Technique

Backlog Management is not without its challenges. Some of the limitations of this technique are:

1. It requires constant collaboration and communication among the team and the stakeholders.
2. It may be difficult to balance competing priorities and expectations.
3. It may be affected by uncertainty and volatility in the environment.
4. It may lead to scope creep or gold plating if not controlled properly.
5. It can be challenging to measure and demonstrate the value of each work item.

Best Practices to overcome the Challenges

Below are the some of the best practices which can be applied to overcome the challenges:

1. Define clear roles and responsibilities for creating and managing a backlog.
2. Establish a common understanding of the vision and goals of the project or product.
3. Use SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to define and document work items.
4. Use relative estimation techniques (such as story points) rather than absolute estimation techniques (such as hours) to avoid over-commitment or underestimation.
5. Use feedback loops (such as demos or retrospectives) to validate and improve work items.

Conclusion

Backlog management is a powerful technique that can help us deliver value faster and better. By using this technique, we can ensure that we are working on the right things at the right time with the right quality.

Keep watching this space for more Business Analysis Techniques.

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About the Author: Lalita Lalwani is a Business Analyst at Version 1.