7a336e6e/Managing Backlog
product/managing-backlog/SKILL.md
Refine, prioritize, and clean the product backlog to ensure the team is always working on the highest-value tasks.
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SKILL.md
- name:
- Managing Backlog
- description:
- Refine, prioritize, and clean the product backlog to ensure the team is always working on the highest-value tasks.
Managing Backlog
Goal
Maintain a healthy, prioritized list of work items that are ready for development ("Definition of Ready"), preventing bottlenecks and "garbage in, garbage out."
When to Use
- Before sprint planning.
- When the backlog grows too large (> 50 items).
- When stakeholders add new requests.
Instructions
1. Prioritization Frameworks
Don't just use "High/Medium/Low". Use a model:
- RICE: Reach * Impact * Confidence / Effort.
- MoSCoW: Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have.
- Cost of Delay: "If this waits a month, how much do we lose?"
2. Refinement (Grooming)
Make tasks actionable.
- Clarify: Does everyone understand the "Why"?
- Estimate: Is it a 1-day task or a 2-week task?
- Split: If it's big, break it down.
3. Definition of Ready (DoR)
A task can only move to "Todo" if:
- It has a clear user story.
- It has acceptance criteria.
- It has dependencies identified.
- It has an estimate.
4. Backlog Hygiene
- Delete: If it's been in the backlog for 6 months and nobody cares, delete it.
- Archive: Don't let the "Icebox" become a graveyard.
Constraints
✅ Do
- DO: Re-prioritize regularly. Priorities change.
- DO: Say "No". A backlog is not a wishlist; it's a plan.
- DO: Link backlog items to strategic goals (OKRs).
❌ Don't
- DON'T: Let stakeholders push items to "In Progress" directly.
- DON'T: Estimate in hours. Use points or T-shirt sizes (S, M, L) for relative complexity.
- DON'T: Allow "Zombie tickets" (tasks with no clear owner or value) to survive.
Output Format
- Updates to
tasks.md(priority ordering, new tags). backlog_refinement_report.md.
Dependencies
product/defining-user-stories/SKILL.mdplanner/project-planning/SKILL.md
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