The word backlog is used in scrum to describe two kinds of work. Work we are doing now is called “Sprint Backlog” and work we might do later is called “Product Backlog”. View in this context the word backlog is simple a list of work. The work is broken down into a focus of now and later.
The backlog upon examination quickly becomes more complicated as demands upon it increase. The 3 notable demands that increase the complexity of the work we are managing is..
- Scaling the teams
- Concurrency of work in motion
- Complexity of the domain
A Scrum Team‘s work is managed with a Product Backlog (“Backlog”), which is a prioritized list of Product Backlog Items (“PBIs”, “Backlog Items, or simply “Items”). When the list is small it is just a straight list of things, as it grows we add grouping mechanisms to organize many little things and help us keep track.
The art of Backlog Management as with any complex endeavor is to keep things simple. Keeping things as simple and straightforward as possible is the job of both the Product Owner and Scrum Master.