From the course: Agile Requirements Foundations

Ownership of the backlog

From the course: Agile Requirements Foundations

Ownership of the backlog

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- So who owns the backlog, the scrum master, product owner, business analyst, technical lead? The product owner owns the backlog. They decide what gets put in the backlog, the process for getting something onto the backlog, and where in the backlog it goes. As a business analyst, your role is to do the heavy lifting for this huge backlog-ownership task. Let's look at the three parts and where the backlog fits in. First, what gets put on the backlog. Anyone can submit backlog items, but it's the partnership between the product owner and business analyst that determines what actually makes it onto the backlog. Each item needs to be looked at for its fit to the product vision and the value that it provides to the customer and organizational strategy. Each item also needs to be evaluated for its quality. Is it in good enough shape to be added? "Good enough shape" means that it's something the team will understand and remember, and it's not a duplicate or overlap with something else. It needs to be understandable on its own. Next, the process of getting something onto the backlog. The product owner and business analyst own the process by which the team members and stakeholders submit their ideas, items, and requests. For some teams, it's as simple as a sticky note placed on a wall in a space designated for new items. For other teams things get entered into a tool. Using the tool gets a bit more complex in terms of who has access and how to define areas for new items. But either way, once the item is identified, the product owner and business analyst work to determine if it goes on the backlog and where. And last, determining where on the backlog the item goes. I recommend that teams break their backlog into four categories, a top ten, a next release, subsequent release, and the rest. This way only 10 need to be ranked in priority order, and the next three buckets are just categories. An organized, analyzed backlog makes decision making easy for the product owner, but even this simple three- or four-bucket approach is a lot of work for most teams. This is all about prioritization. Determining the priority of each item is something the team needs to address and work on for items that will be delivered in the next few iterations, while keeping an eye on the current and next release as well as the long-term view. As an agile BA, you have a huge influence on the backlog and can make a big difference in the team's success. You help define what items matter the most and keep it flowing smoothly, out of the funnel, to your customers.

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