It is interesting how language evolves and how ‘normal’ words (like backlog) can take on whole new connotations with the advent of different business practices. Take words like agile and lean. These words, in their own context, now reflect particular mindsets, principles, practices and behaviours; they are no longer mere adjectives but demand a specific understanding and knowledge of associated methods.
Consider a conversation overheard the other day, when someone (not in a lean or agile context) made the comment: ‘There’s a whole backlog of work we need to get through before that’ which, in effect, was politely saying “Take a ticket and get in the queue”. There was a pause, and then: “Oh, I wasn’t meaning the agile-type of backlog – maybe I should use a different word?”
The term backlog in a conventional setting can at times have a negative connotation such as the notion of an accumulation of unfinished work. And what you are really thinking is: Do we have to get through all of that sometime soon?
Switch now to the maybe ‘enlightened’ agile usage of backlog as in Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Project Backlog, or even the DSDM variety of Prioritised Requirements List (PRL). Now we are talking! In an agile sense that is what a backlog really is (and should be): prioritised.
Did you realise that the Project Management Institute (PMI)® even define backlog in the glossary of terms in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide):
“Backlog. A listing of product requirements and deliverables to be completed, written as stories, and prioritised by the business to manage and organise the project’s work.”
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