Product Backlog

What is a Product Backlog and Who is Responsible for Product Backlog?
​A product backlog is an arrangement of user requirements that must be done to actualize the whole project. A Product Backlog is arranged in an order of priority, the most important requirements are placed on top for quick access and ready to be moved to sprint backlog as soon as the project is ready to kick start. 

Product backlog helps to break down all the requirements given by the product owner into a series of steps that help the development team. There must be a duration that so the team knows when to kick start the task and how long it will take them to complete the task.

Who is Responsible for Product Backlog?
The product owner (or product manager) is responsible for providing the Development Team the details of the user requirements for the project, though the team can add requirements to the product backlog as the project progresses. It is also the role of the Product Owner to monitor the product backlog and ensure that the Development Team works in line with the goal of the project. When the information needed by the Development Team is well stated by the product owner, it allows the Development Team to know what to focus on and also motivate the individual to work as a team to fulfil the goal of the project. 

At the start of the project, the Team and the Product Owner start by writing down everything they can think of easily. Then the product backlog is allowed to grow and change as the team learned more about the product and its customer. 

How does the Product Owner develop the product backlog?
The first sprint planning meeting is important for determining the prioritization of all the items to be added to the product backlog. The first sprint planning gave birth to product backlog because all the list of the user requirements will be stated by the product owner, the development team can as well add to the user requirements. The most important items should always go first in the development, the Development Team as the power to tell the Product Owner which item on the product backlog can be done in the current sprint. The item on the current sprint can them be moved to the Sprint Backlog.

Characteristic of a Product Backlog

• Product Backlog is a list of where all the user requirements are gathered.
  
• A product backlog is a to-do list for the team
  
• A product backlog consists of User stories, Task, Bugs, and Epic
  
• Items on product backlog can be removed, changed, replaced as new items are discovered 
  
• Items can be added to the product backlog as the project progresses.
  
• The most important items on the Product Backlog are moved to the top.
  
• Product owner makes sure that all the content in product backlog “user stories” are defined in detailed 
  

Conclusion 
The concept of a Product Backlog is easy, the Product Owner provides the details of the user requirement because (S)he’s the only person that knows 100% what the needs of a customer are and the Development Team must have the skill to break each of the user requirements to series of tasks that can then be assigned to the team, who must not only complete it but also understand it.

Author

Adebola Clara Ogunleye
Junior Project Lead 
Brave Achievers Incubator Programme ​