The list of what might be built.
WHAT IT IS
Everything under consideration, ordered.
WHAT IT IS NOT
Every request ever received.
WHY THAT DISTINCTION MATTERS
An enormous backlog is unusable and nobody reads it.
WHAT TO KEEP IN IT
Things you might realistically do.
WHAT TO REMOVE
Anything you have not considered in a long period.
WHY REMOVING IS SAFE
Genuinely important things return.
WHAT TO RECORD FOR EACH ITEM
The problem Who it affects Any evidence Rough size
WHY THE PROBLEM RATHER THAN THE FEATURE
Solutions change; problems persist.
WHAT ORDER TO KEEP IT IN
Priority, top to bottom.
WHY ORDERED RATHER THAN CATEGORISED
Categories let everything be important.
WHAT TO REFINE
The top items, in detail.
WHY ONLY THE TOP
Detailing items you will not build for months is waste.
WHAT REFINEMENT INVOLVES
Clarifying the problem Agreeing acceptance criteria Sizing with the team Identifying unknowns
WHAT TO DO WITH LARGE UNCLEAR ITEMS
Break them down, or investigate before committing.
WHAT TO REVIEW REGULARLY
The order, against current objectives.
WHY
Priorities change and the list goes stale.
WHAT TO PRUNE PERIODICALLY
Aggressively.
