{"id":3184,"date":"2015-08-19T14:55:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T13:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prodpad.com?p=3184&preview_id=3184"},"modified":"2023-01-06T13:08:35","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T13:08:35","slug":"product-backlog-grooming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-backlog-grooming\/","title":{"rendered":"The Leanest Way To Organize Your Product Backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most important tasks – but unfortunately one of the least popular – for product managers is organizing the product backlog. Staying on top of all those\u00a0ideas<\/a> is the only way to continually push the best ones to the top. But when you\u00a0fall behind on maintenance, it can (and will) spiral out of control.

*sigh*It’s our least favorite tasks that\u00a0generally require the most discipline. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve put together a few tips for helping you tackle your product backlog in a manageable, and even therapeutic way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Pick a date<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pick a regular time to prune your backlog. We do it once a month – so pick a date and time of day (we recommend a full morning or afternoon) that\u2019s the least likely to get pushed around by other *urgent* needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Cull it all<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is your turbo-charged attack on your backlog. You\u2019re aiming for a quick, but thorough scan of all ideas to remove or merge irrelevant and duplicate entries. We recommend doing this to an inspirational, powerful playlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Find the holes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Identify the ideas that are held in stasis because they are missing information. As this is a monthly activity, pay close attention to those ideas you know you haven\u2019t touched during the past month. This might be business case, user case or even a simple detailing of what problem the feature should address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Write up a to-do list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve identified everything that needs attention, don\u2019t just leave it there. From the ideas you\u2019ve selected create follow-up tasks and add them to whatever to-do list you already manage. Make these specific and realistic so that you don\u2019t find yourself picking out and noting down the same unfinished backlog chores next month too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 5: Smugly celebrate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As well as actually cracking on with that to do list – we recommend making you REWARD YOURSELF. That was long an arduous thing you just did. When backlog day comes around, make sure you\u2019ve got a treat stocked in the office that you can congratulate yourself with when you finish. Candy. Ice cream sandwich. Whiskey. Whatever floats your boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This exercise was taken from the ProdPad Handy Guide for Product People. Sign up for a free trial<\/a> and request your own copy for plenty more tips and tricks for great product management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most important tasks – but unfortunately one of the least popular – for product managers is organizing the product backlog. Staying on top of all those\u00a0ideas is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[37,90,95,155],"pp_uni_tag":[5210],"class_list":["post-3184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roadmaps","tag-clean-product-backlog","tag-handy-guide","tag-ideas","tag-product-backlog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Leanest Way To Organize Your Product Backlog | ProdPad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The best product managers organize their product backlog just once a month. 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