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Why Backlog Management Is Dangerous for Most Teams
The more items you have in the backlog, the less you can innovate.
The product backlog should be a vehicle for driving value, but it often becomes a distraction from what really matters.
Over the last 15 years, something has surprised me. The best product teams I’ve encountered were reckless with their backlogs. They had less than 50 backlog items and deleted more than they created. While that may be controversial to most teams, keeping one’s mind open to what truly matters is necessary.
Before we dive into this episode, I have something for you. In a few weeks, I’m hosting a free webinar about overcoming the dangerous mistakes with Product Discovery.
7 Dangers of Backlog Management
How much time do you spend managing your backlog every week?
The more time you spend on the backlog, the less time you have to learn. Here’s how to evaluate it:
- < 5h → Lean Backlog Management. You can focus on what matters.
- > 5h < 10h → Sustainable Backlog Management. You can still balance innovation and delivery.
- > 10h < 20h → Warning! Your backlog is taking more time from you than it should.
