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As a Product Owner, you are responsible for the success of your product. You are the one who prioritizes and maintains the backlog so you can deliver the most customer value in the most efficient and effective way possible. However, this is not so easy. The importance of Backlog Management is often underestimated resulting in lower productivity and product quality and longer project duration. So how do you manage the backlog in such a way that you add as much value as possible for your customer?
In this article Bert Timmerman and Remon Lemmens explain what Product Backlog Management entails, why it is so important, the consequences of ineffective Product Backlog Management and the characteristics of a good Product Backlog. Finally, the article explains how Ordina's Product Owner Assessment can provide Product Owners with tools to get their Backlog Management skills to the desired level.
What is Backlog Management and why is it so important?
A Product Backlog is a list of all features, improvements, changes and tasks required to (further) develop a product. Managing a Product Backlog includes prioritizing the Backlog items for added value, adding new items, removing items that are no longer relevant and tracking the status of each item. Backlogs are constantly subject to change and are adaptable to evolve with customer and stakeholder needs. Therefore, to keep a backlog as up-to-date as possible, it should be refined and modified on an ongoing basis.
The goal of Backlog Management is to ensure that the product team focuses on those tasks that optimally contribute to delivering the most valuable product for the customer. The Product Backlog gives a good overview of the work still to be done and any dependencies and so you can use it well to manage the interdependencies within the team. This can prevent delays in product development and help achieve the desired level of quality.
What are the consequences of ineffective Backlog Management?
The consequences of ineffective Backlog Management are significant. If the Product Owner is not good at managing the Backlog, this leads to most often a lack of prioritization, a lack of focus and a lack of transparency about the status of the project. This in turn leads to lower productivity, lower quality of the final product and longer time to complete the project. Generally, in this case, the team does not deliver the desired quality and value to the customer, making the customer more likely to take her problem or desire to the competition.
How do you recognize a good Product Backlog?
We've talked about why good Product Backlog Management is so important and also the consequences of poor Product Backlog Management. But how do you recognize a good Product Backlog?
A good Product Backlog has several essential characteristics:
Transparency: at a minimum, the Product Backlog should always be transparent to all team members and stakeholders. The Product Backlog contains the most important work, so it is clear to everyone when you can pick up which work.
Good quality: the work should be detailed enough at least for the next 1 or 2 Sprints so that it can be picked up by the development team. Ideally the work for between 3 and 6 months is announced to the team, but not yet detailed in exactly what needs to be done. Work after 6 months is announced to the team, but only by project title. All work after 12 months is not on the Backlog.
Clear prioritization: the Product Owners must be able to properly analyze and understand complex problems so they can prioritize and make the right decisions. To set the right prioritization, it is important to look at the following factors:
Value (an item is valuable if it is necessary to bring the product or service to life)
Uncertainty/risk (high-risk items should be prioritized to build knowledge quickly or fail early)
Releasibility (releasing early allows for early feedback and value generation)
Dependencies (resolve dependencies by, for example, dividing items differently or combining items)
Clear scope: user requirements, stakeholder requirements and development team requirements are on the Backlog. Quality is an integral part of all Backlog items.
Product owner assessment of Ordina
To give Product Owners insight into their maturity in various core skills, such as Backlog Management, Ordina has developed the Product Owner Assessment. This assessment provides insight into the current level of Product Owners; their strengths and their development points.
Within the Product Owner Assessment, we analyze how a Product Owner is performing and where there is room for improvement on six main components. These six main components are:
Product vision and strategy
Product knowledge
Stakeholder Management
Backlog Management
Process skills and techniques
People skills and responsibilities.
Specifically for Backlog Management we look at: transparency, quality, prioritization and scope of the Backlog.
Ordina has successfully performed this Product Owner Assessment at several companies and large government agencies. The assessment enables Product Owners to identify where their greatest needs lie and which development points they can best get to work with. It also allows you to improve the quality of the ongoing dialogue between the manager and the Product Owner to further raise the level of product management.
Are you curious about the current level of your Product Owners and how Ordina can offer tools to lift your Product Owners to a higher level? Then contact one of the practice leads of the Digital Product management practice within Ordina:
Timo Savenije (timo.savenije@ordina.nl)
Leon Smit (leon.smit@ordina.nl)