In Scrum, agile product backlog is a vital part of the software development project; it is the ordered list of everything that will be needed in the product. It is the sole source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product. The product owner is saddled with the task of creating the product that will be used by the Scrum team during the sprint.
The product backlog should be created in a manner that allows changes over time and aids the team in building the ideal product that satisfies the need of the customers.
However, some product backlogs are always done in a manner that is devoid of clarity whereby the team will not be able to depict the development strategy behind the Product Backlog items to be used during the agile sprint.
The use of agile backlog tool helps create the scope for the product and the work that will be done on it. Agile backlog tool enhances the collaboration of the stakeholders by helping them in identifying and refining epic, user stories, and other types of product backlog items required by the Scrum team.
Also, it assists the Scrum team with the in-depth understanding required to manage and make a vital contribution to the product backlog items development.
Sinnaps, a project tracker and an online project management tool will assist the product owner and the team in preparing their product backlog that will support the sprint session of the project management team.
As a tool, it can determine the project’s critical path and save them a lot of time by emphasizing the task dependencies. This helps the team in meeting the deadlines of their project.
Agile Backlog Tool
In an agile backlog tool, you have a tool that helps the product owner and the Scrum team in formulating a prioritized list of deliverables that should be implemented as a part of the product development.
Scrum backlog tool improves the ability of the team to decide, estimate, refine and prioritize everything necessary to be completed in the software development project.
Furthermore, it assists the team in creating user stories with the right descriptions of the preferred functionality expressed from the perspective of the user.
It simplifies the process of working on the vital and valuable features and fixing the most important bugs that are critical to product development.
Agile backlog tool empowers the team with flexibility and ability to manage change in the product development thereby giving them the competitive edge in the marketplace.
The following are the benefits of using agile backlog tool:
- It helps the team in developing a common ground to align with the stakeholders in implementing the most valuable user stories.
- It offers them the flexibility to adapt to new needs and realities in the product.
- It improves the accuracy of product release forecasts through denominator across the teams collaborating on the product.
Furthermore, backlog tracking is an important part of the agile product backlog. A backlog tracker helps in the management of the end-to-end development activities of the product. It keeps the team updated about additions, change of status, comments, and code updates for effective teamwork.
Backlog bug tracking enables the team to collaborate on fixing bugs by logging them as issues. No doubt, issues are the central hub for discussing, working on and resolving each bug. It offers detailed information about the changes made to the code and can track who is working on it and when.
For example, Jira is an agile backlog tool that can be used in running your product backlog grooming and sprint planning sessions.
Scrum dashboard offers the Scrum team a web front-end tool for simplifying the daily activities by assisting them in creating, adding, and updating product backlogs.
In agile management, the product backlog is the basis of the agile sprint which is the time-boxed iteration of a continuous development cycle. Agile project management software aids the team in carrying out agile planning for their software development project because it helps them in estimating the work to be done in an agile sprint.
Scrum Backlog Excel Spreadsheet
Scrum backlog excel spreadsheet is useful for organizing user stories easily. It supports sprint planning because the team can easily select the top items in the product backlog and add them to the sprint.
On the product backlog excel, the team can arrange the work that will be executed in the development phase which is the to-do list of backlog items that should be completed in the current iteration. Scrum backlog excel spreadsheet has columns for backlog items, story point, status, original estimate, and responsibility.
Furthermore, in day 1 through day 5 columns, you can add the number of extra development hours required for each day’s task. On the total row at the bottom, you can see the total amount of extra development hours for each day for every task in the sprint.
Sprint backlog excel is useful in dividing the selected user stories into clear tasks and in preparing the sprint project to achieve the desired level of productivity.
Scrum Backlog Excel Spreadsheet
Download a Scrum Backlog in Excel for free
Product Backlog Tool
In a product backlog tool, you have a bank for storing the ideas of everyone, you can plan, epic, and prioritize tasks. It enhances the ability of the team to quickly add or remove backlog items to the product backlog.
Product backlog tool has a different format that can be used sequentially to arrange the product backlog items. It helps the team in having an understanding of the outcome and the identified solution.
Also, it improves the ability of the team to maintain the product backlog by prioritizing product backlog items and helping them in deciding the product backlogs items that should be removed from the product backlog and at the same time facilitates the product backlog refinement.
Again, product backlog tool improves the communication and collaboration of the stakeholders about what they are working on and what they aim to work on in the next sprint.
On the Kanban product backlog, there is a column for maintaining the record of the backlogs and separate to-do lists. It enhances the ability to manage and resolve issues that could be raised during the product backlog activities.
The use of online time tracker boosts the accountability of the project team by tracking the amount of time spent by the workers while executing the project to enhance their productivity and efficiency.
For example, Sinnaps can be used as an online time planner to hold the workers accountable for their activities thereby enhancing their productivity in the process.
