Marko Majkic
Software and Management Consultant
© 2025 Majkic Marko All rights reserved.
Product Backlog in a Great Shape
As a Product Owner your main duty is to keep Product Backlog in a great shape, in condition which is enabling developers to work on PBL items. So, this is what you need to take care about:
- Keep user stories prioritised – uniquely. There can’t be two user stories with the same priority.
- Keep your user stories READY (by Definition of Ready*) at least two sprints ahead.
- Keep your user stories granular enough for the team to finish each user story within a sprint.
- Keep your user stories grouping – may each user story belongs to feature set/epic/theme.
- All user stories for at least next two sprints should be estimated by the team. Preferably, have all PBL user stories estimated (at least roughly).
- All user stories for the next two sprints must have the acceptance criteria.
- All future user stories or epics must have at least feature acceptance criteria.
- For all user stories for the next two sprints keep list of necessary resources. Keep critical resources marked RED.
- Keep all items (technical tasks, bugs,…) prioritised and READY
- Keep all user stories for the next two sprints refined by the development team.
*Definition of Ready – each user story needs to fulfil these criteria to be accepted as ready for the development
- User story has: title, description, acceptance criteria.
- User story has all necessary resources prepared.
- All user stories which original user story is dependent on are done.
- User story has unique priority defined.
- User story is accepted by the development team.