Backlog (product backlog)
Also called product backlog.
The ordered list of everything still to be built or fixed in a product, with the most important work at the top.
Last updated
What it is.
The Scrum Guide calls the product backlog an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product, and the single source of work for the team. In practice it holds user stories, bugs, technical work and research tasks.
Only the top of the backlog needs detail. Items near the top are small, estimated and have acceptance criteria. Items further down can be one line, because they will change before anyone works on them.
Why it matters
A backlog makes trade-offs visible. When a new idea arrives, it goes into the list and someone decides what it is more important than. Without one, priorities live in chat threads and the loudest request wins, which is how scope creep starts.
In a product build
On a time and materials or embedded engagement the client usually owns the order of the backlog and the engineers work from the top. Someone on the client side has to make those calls each week.
Common mistakes.
- 01
Treating it as a wish list that only grows. Close items that will never be built.
- 02
Detailing everything up front. Effort spent on item eighty is usually wasted.
- 03
Having two backlogs, one for the team and one for the business, that never match.
Read the official text.
Primary sources this definition is based on.
- The Scrum Guide (Schwaber and Sutherland, 2020)checked 2026-10-25
Related terms.
- User storyA short description of a feature from the point of view of the person who needs it, and why they need it.
- SprintA fixed time box, one month or less and often two weeks, in which a team builds and shows a working piece of the product.
- Product roadmapA plan showing what a product team intends to build over the coming months, and the goal behind each step.
- Scope creepThe slow growth of what a project must deliver, without a matching change to its time or budget.
Guides and pages
Browse the full glossary or read answers to common questions.
