Prioritizing

Before beginning to work on a project, traditional project management requires that the project’s requirements to be gathered. In agile this task is completed using the product backlog. The product backlog is a list of user stories that drive the project. They are rank according to their value to the product. The backlog is an adaptive document that changes through the product life-cycle. It doesn’t start encapsulating all the work that will be necessary for the product. The backlog can be amended solely by the product owner. When the backlog is amended then the list of user stories is the rearranged as their values may have changed.

During the reordering of the user stories, the stories with the most values are placed at the top of the list. An efficient approach to creating the backlog is by starting out with a few vague user stories. These stories can then be taken apart into several stories that have a clearer focus. In the beginning of the backlog’s creation it is okay for it to be a list full of vague, high-level user stories. As the project progresses, the backlog will also progress and become clearer. With each sprint the backlog will improve more and more.

A key idea of the backlog is to try to keep from having too much to handle at once. Work through the backlog one user story at a time. The first stories that will be completed will be the most valued stories. If there is ever too much work or that the value of work later in the list has increased, then the product backlog can always be reorganized. This should only be done by the product owner to be the most effective. This can keep separate managers prioritizing what they need and creating a chaotic work list. The product owner might even lose their means to coordinate with the project and the scrum master might have to be called to try to mend the situation.

The product log is a fantastic tool for keeping the agile project running smoothly. The list can be updated with interrupting the team. As the product owner is the one managing the list, then the work on the list always has value to the project. The product owner will be the one that gives work their varying priority and will be the one that will have to explain why some work has a lower priority than other work.

Sources

"Agile at Work: Reporting with Agile Charts and Boards" https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Agile-Work-Reporting-Agile-Charts-Boards/175962-2.html. Accessed 25 Nov. 2017

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