Agile Methodology

Backlog in agile methodology is a **prioritized list of deliverables** (such as new features, bug fixes, or other activities) that a team may work on to achieve a specific outcome¹². The backlog is **dynamic** and **evolving**, meaning that it changes as the team gains a better understanding of the outcome and the solution. The backlog is also **owned** by the team, usually with a product owner or product manager who is responsible for maintaining and prioritizing it¹².

The backlog can be divided into different levels of granularity, such as:

- **Product backlog**: The highest-level backlog that contains all the work items for the entire product or project. It is derived from the roadmap and its requirements².

- **Release backlog**: A subset of the product backlog that contains the work items for a specific release or version of the product. It is aligned with the release plan and its goals³.

- **Sprint backlog**: A subset of the release backlog that contains the work items for a specific iteration or sprint. It is aligned with the sprint plan and its objectives³.

The backlog can also be organized into different types of work items, such as:

- **Initiatives**: Large-scale, strategic goals that span multiple releases or sprints. They are usually broken down into smaller epics².

- **Epics**: Large-scale, high-level features or themes that span multiple sprints. They are usually broken down into smaller user stories².

- **User stories**: Small-scale, user-centric features or tasks that can be completed within a single sprint. They are usually written in the format of \"As a [user role], I want to [goal], so that [benefit]\"².

- **Tasks**: Small-scale, technical or operational activities that can be completed within a few hours or days. They are usually created by the development team to implement user stories².

The backlog can also be prioritized using different criteria, such as:

- **Value**: The expected benefit or impact of delivering a work item to the customer or stakeholder¹.

- **Effort**: The estimated amount of time, resources, or complexity required to deliver a work item¹.

- **Risk**: The potential for uncertainty, variability, or failure in delivering a work item¹.

- **Dependency**: The relationship or interconnection between work items that affects their order of delivery¹.

I hope this helps you understand what backlog in agile methodology means. If you want to learn more, you can check out these links:

- [Agile Product Backlogs Guide | Master Your Agile Backlog | Perforce](^1^)

- [Product Backlog Explained [+ Examples] | Atlassian](^2^)

- [What Is Backlog In Agile - Zeolearn](^4^)

Source: Conversation with Bing, 6/21/2023

(1) Agile Product Backlogs Guide | Master Your Agile Backlog | Perforce. https://www.perforce.com/resources/hns/agile-product-backlog-basics.

(2) What is a Product Backlog? | Agile Alliance. https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/backlog/.

(3) Product Backlog Explained [+ Examples] | Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/agile/scrum/backlogs.

(4) What Is Backlog In Agile - Zeolearn. https://www.zeolearn.com/magazine/backlog-in-agile.

(5) Product backlog - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_backlog.