computer science

Product backlog

Product backlog is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Product backlog rather than just read about it. In short: Within agile project management, product backlog refers to a prioritized list of functionality which a product should contain. It is sometimes referred to as a to-do list, and is considered an 'artifact' (a form of documentation) within the scrum software development framework.

Key takeaways

Product backlog belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Product backlog to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Product backlog from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Within agile project management, product backlog refers to a prioritized list of functionality which a product should contain. It is sometimes referred to as a to-do list, and is considered an 'artifact' (a form of documentation) within the scrum software development framework. The product backlog is referred to with different names in different project management frameworks, such as product backlog in scrum, work item list in disciplined agile, and option pool in lean. In the scrum framework, creation and continuous maintenance of the product backlog is part of the responsibility of the product owner. A sprint backlog consists of selected elements from the product backlog which are planned to be developed within that particular sprint. In scrum, coherence is defined as a measure of the relationships between backlog items which make them worthy of consideration as a whole.

Outline The agile product backlog in scrum is a prioritized features list, containing short descriptions of all functionality desired in the product. When applying the scrum or other agile development methodology, it is not necessary to start a project with a lengthy, upfront effort to document all requirements as is more common with traditional project management methods following the waterfall model. Instead, a scrum team and its product owner will typically begin by writing down every relevant feature they can think of for the project's agile backlog prioritization, and the initial agile product backlog is almost always more than enough for a first sprint. The scrum product backlog is then allowed to grow further throughout the project life cycle and change as more is learned about the product and its customers. A typical scrum backlog comprises features, bugs, technical work and knowledge acquisition.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Product backlog

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Product backlog claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Product backlog before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Product backlog ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Product backlog

In research: Product backlog appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Product backlog in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Product backlog is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agile software development, Computing terminology, Software engineering stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Product backlog outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Product backlog in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Product backlog means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Product backlog out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Product backlog in simple terms?

Why does Product backlog matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Product backlog?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Product backlog.