It’s common practice to keep a product backlog as small as possible, probably just 10-20 items. This works for single teams with one Product Owner and perhaps a Scrum Master. But what if you have 100 Scrum teams managing a complex system of hardware and software components? What do you need to change to manage at such a massive scale? Join backlog expert Johan Karlsson to learn how to: -Adapt Agile product backlog practices to manage many backlogs. -Enhance collaboration across disciplines. -Leverage backlogs to align teams while giving them flexibility.

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How to Master Your Mega Backlog
JOHAN KARLSSON, PERFORCE

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Johan Karlsson
jkarlsson@perforce.com
Senior Consultant, Hansoft
Perforce Software

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How to Master Your Mega Backlog
1
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Challenges With Product Backlog Management at Scale
How to Scale Agile Backlog Practices: Avoiding Fallacies
3 Enhance Collaboration and Align Teams

4. Challenges With Product Backlog
Management at Scale

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A Product Backlog in Theory
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Issues Managing Backlogs at Scale
Customers and stakeholders
with different ideas and high
expectations.
Large team –– with 100s or
1000s of developers ––
distributed around the world.
Hardware components,
standardized platforms,
and technical debt.

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What Happens to Your Backlog…
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Not enough options =
the backlogs grows
out of control.
Inaccurate
Estimations
No Alignment on Value
Unclear Priorities
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“Alternative Backlogs” Spring Up
EVERYWHERE…

8. How to Scale Agile Backlog Practices

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Fallacy #1: The Flat List
Description Type
User story
Epic
Task
User story
Sub-task
Task
User story
Epic
Strategic theme
Task

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Separate Backlog Items vs. Issues & Tasks
Purpose
Owner
Lifecycle
Structure
Backlog Items Tasks & Issues
Items describing the high-level WHY and
WHAT that will make your product sustain.
The details of WHO, WHEN and technical
WHAT for Team level.
Product Owner or other business
stakeholder.
The team completing the work.
Mid- and long term focus.
Completion means business value is delivered
Short term focus.
Completing one means little to the business.
Structured in Feature Areas by product
objectives typically
In a single product backlog
Sub-items to backlog items.
Not in Product Backlog

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How to Gain Flexibility at Scale
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Product Backlog Detailed Plan for Tasks & Issues

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Example Mega Backlog Structure

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Example Scaled Agile Framework

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Fallacy #2: Divided Ownership
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Product Owner 1 Product Owner 2 Product Owner 3

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Product Owner Collaboration
Team 1
Team 2
Team 2
Team X
Area Product
Owner 1
Area Product
Owner 2
Area Product
Owner X
Product
Management
Business
stakeholders
Supporting
functions
Product
Owner
A shared product backlog is foundational.

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Fallacy #3: The Priority Flaw
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”Your #1 is not my #1…”

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Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
Use a Systematic Approach to Priority at Scale

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Use a Systematic Approach to Priority at Scale
Cost
$$$
Value

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Use a Systematic Approach to Priority at Scale
2019-01-01
2019-01-03
2019-01-05
2019-01-07
2019-01-09
2019-01-11
2019-01-13
USAGE HISTORY
TelemetryAnalysts’ Output FeedbackLeanings & Ideas
Cost
+ + +

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Separate Priority Levels
WSJF (Weighted shortest job first).
MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won’t).
Rank the most “valued” user story first.
List out sprint priorities.Tasks & Issues
ProductBacklog

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Fallacy #4: The Estimation Flaw
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“One story point is 0.5
man days of work.”

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Track Lead & Cycle Times
1. Track actual time spent per area type.
2. Allow each team to use their own estimation strategy.
3. Analyze actual time data to better understand how to estimate.

23. Enhance Collaboration and Align Teams

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• The MEGA product backlog is still just ONE backlog (a backlog of backlogs).
• You need to:
• Define a structure that scales.
• Get a backlog management tool that scales.
• Enhance Product Owner collaboration.
• Systematically approach prioritization and estimation to reduce waste.
Get Ready to Master Your Mega Backlog

25. Questions?
Thanks so much for attending!