{"id":11228,"date":"2022-01-18T19:09:34","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T01:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threecloud.wpengine.com\/?p=11228"},"modified":"2024-02-28T07:48:34","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T15:48:34","slug":"taming-the-backlog-pt-3-how-to-prioritize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/resources\/taming-the-backlog-pt-3-how-to-prioritize\/","title":{"rendered":"Taming the Backlog\u00a0Pt. 3:\u00a0How to Prioritize"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">If you followed\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span data-ccp-charstyle=\"Hyperlink\">Parts 1<\/span><\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">2<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0of our\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Taming the Backlog<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0series, you know that the characteristics of a healthy product backlog support the flow of value at a sustainable pace. By focusing on having a healthy backlog, you can ensure\u00a0minimal time is wasted on items\u00a0that aren\u2019t\u00a0likely to be worked on soon, or ever. Plus, the risk of delivering the wrong solution is\u00a0reduced significantly.\u00a0Efforts to keep\u00a0a team\u2019s\u00a0active backlog\u00a0healthy, trimmed to the right size, AND objectively prioritized\u00a0are\u00a0critical for ongoing, sustainable value delivery.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Finding the Right Size<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What\u00a0should your organization\u00a0do with hundreds to thousands of backlog items that have built up over time? If you\u2019re comfortable with it, the simplest approach is to delete anything that\u2019s not likely to be worked on soon or was completed long ago. Do keep in mind that deleting items may impact any historical reporting based on backlog data\u2013a small price to pay for the benefits.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If deleting items from your backlog makes you, the team, or your organization uncomfortable, there are plenty of other ways to \u201cremove\u201d items from your active product backlog.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Create a\u00a0new\u00a0backlog.<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Leave the current backlog as an archive and start fresh. Move or copy existing backlog items to the\u00a0new backlog. Less is more to start. Leave room for new requests to come in, because they always do.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Export a\u00a0backup, then\u00a0delete\u00a0inactive\u00a0items.<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Keeping a backup of your product backlog from time to time is a good idea in general. Deleting the inactive items from your backlog becomes liberating, especially knowing you have a backup to go to if necessary.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Use versions.<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Many workflow management systems for software teams support versions, which allow you to organize backlog items for a given release or product version. Generic versions\u2013such as Backburner, Fridge, and Freezer\u2013can also be useful.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Use labels or tags.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You can establish a labeling or tagging standard to identify items considered\u00a0to be\u00a0in the active backlog\u00a0or not.\u00a0This\u00a0will\u00a0allow you\u00a0or the Product Owner\u00a0to query the items in the active backlog in a virtual view.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Taking one or many of the steps above can help you reach the target you\u2019ve set for total number of backlog items. From there, your next challenge is proper prioritization.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Prioritizing the Product Backlog<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Prioritizing a backlog can easily induce analysis paralysis in Product Owners.\u00a0 With a steady stream of new requests coming in that need to be evaluated, how do you prioritize (and re-prioritize) what your team works on? Maybe you\u2019re caught between paying back tech debt that is slowing down value delivery, or delivering a feature requested by your most important stakeholder. Perhaps you and your team want to innovate, but the level of production support required keeps leaving you with no time for it. The fact is, there needs to be balance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The path to backlog balance is not complicated. It does require you to gather data and then have some candid conversations with your stakeholders. The first step is to understand what percentage of time the team currently spends working on the following:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Product Support \u2013\u202f<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">supporting what you built<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">New Features \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">building to generate revenue<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Technical Debt \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">cutting corners to deliver faster (note:\u00a0this can come with\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">high costs<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Innovation and Training \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">creating new opportunities, saving money, and strengthening the workforce<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With team allocation data in hand, you now have the context you need to make prioritization visible for your internal customers. You can have conversations with them about how time is currently invested and get their input on the desired percentages of time ideally invested in each type of work. Together, you can outline a plan to get to the ideal balance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Clear expectations will be set, and the Product Owner will have an objective framework to prioritize within. Yes, there will be exceptions. Product support may spike. Unsupported hardware and software must be upgraded by a certain date. When the exceptions become too frequent, it is time to discuss recalibrating the ideal percentages to get balanced again.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There are generally more work requests than time available, which can create stress for a team. That\u2019s why objective prioritization is critical. You can take the emotion and anxiety out of the backlog prioritization process. The key is making the time invested in each type of work visible and having data-driven conversations. Keeping the product backlog balanced also gives the team confidence that they\u2019re working on the expected work at the right time, allowing them to focus on the work itself.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Ready to Tame Your Backlog?<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The backlog management concepts and processes presented in this series can be applied for a single team working from a single product backlog, and at scale. It\u2019s not uncommon for teams in large enterprises to pull work from multiple product backlogs shared by multiple other teams, each with a team backlog that they plan and manage their iterations in.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If there are two constants across software development ecosystems and frameworks, they are teams and work. Teams need a way to manage their work, and that happens through their backlog. Execution on strategy, outcomes, and experiences happens through the backlog.\u00a0 A good backlog management process will yield data that can be used to\u00a0estimate\u00a0future delivery timing, with improved accuracy over time for persistent teams. Backlogs, at their core, connect the dots to track the investments a company is making in products and IT through people and technology.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So, we end\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">where we started<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: the product backlog serves many purposes. It is\u00a0<\/span><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the single,<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">most important<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0artifact for Agile teams.\u00a0It\u2019s so\u00a0important that Polaris Solutions is offering to do a two-hour working session with you. We\u2019ll\u00a0review your backlogs and discuss opportunities to improve the value\u00a0they\u00a0provide your team and organization.\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/get-started\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Contact a 3Cloud team member<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0today to\u00a0get started.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you followed\u00a0Parts 1\u00a0and\u00a02\u00a0of our\u00a0Taming the Backlog\u00a0series, you know that the characteristics of a healthy&mldr;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":11467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[262],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-azure-strategy-management","topics-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}