How to Simplify and Create Transparency in your Product Backlog Using Evidence-Based Management

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The practice of Product Backlog Management in Scrum serves as a cornerstone for effective product management. However, this often leads Scrum Teams to invest excessive time and effort in overanalyzing Product Goals and refining every Product Backlog item as they try to explore the finest details. This is usually an attempt to reduce risk or a result of unclear vision and strategy.

While a meticulously constructed Product Backlog may seem like a Product Owner is providing transparency to a well-defined roadmap, it often leads to unintended consequences. In this Scrum Pulse webcast, Ryan Ripley, Todd Miller, and Patricia Kong discuss how focusing too much on Product Backlog Management and refinement can actually impede a Scrum Team's ability to be agile and creative. Developing skills to effectively manage a Product Backlog requires a balance of flexibility, clarity, and minimalism. They discuss how teams can leverage Evidence-Based Management (EBM) in their goal pursuit rather than seeking to define everything explicitly in the Product Backlog.