Backlog Item
Overview
A backlog item defines a unit of work, focused on tasks such as
analysis, design, development, testing or deployment. During the initial
planning of the project, the stakeholders define the business case, the vision,
the initial product backlog (see User Stories), the initial release plan, the team and the
logistics, such as infrastructures, software, etc. The initial product backlog
defines a set of user stories, which define functional and
non-functional requirements.
During the sprint planning meeting, the team identifies the backlog items which will be addressed during the next sprint, defining the
duration; the team members responsible for the items and whether or not some or
all of the items are exit criteria items. Once the backlog items are
assigned to a sprint, they are implicitly converted to sprint backlog items,
identifying an individual task and a defined unit of work.
States and Transitions
New
A backlog item is new when it is first created. Create a new
backlog item when work has been identified from either the user stories or
another source.
New to Active
Investigate |
A backlog item made be assigned to a team member for validation or analysis
before work is assigned to a sprint. |
Accepted |
A back log item may be made active when it has been validated and assigned
to a team member. |
Active
A backlog item is active when it has been reviewed by the scrum
master and team and has been targeted for further analysis or has been accepted
as valid work for the project.
Active to Closed
Overtaken |
A backlog item may be closed if the item has been overtaken by events in the
project. |
Duplicate |
A backlog item may be closed if the item is the duplicate of another backlog
item. |
Postponed |
A backlog item may be closed if the project team decides to postpone the
work. |
Removed |
A backlog item may be closed if it has been removed from the project backlog. |
Active to Resolved
Complete (No Verification) |
A backlog item may be marked as resolved once the work has been completed and
may or may not need to be verified. |
Complete (Requires
Verification) |
A backlog item may be marked as resolved once the work has been completed and
may or may not need to be verified. |
Resolved
A backlog item is resolved when the work that it specified has been
completed but not yet tested or reviewed.
Resolved to Active
Verification Failed |
A backlog item may need to be reactivated if verification of the work
completed is not successful. |
Resolved to Closed
Verified |
A backlog item may be closed once the work completed has been successfully
verified. |
Closed
A backlog item is closed when the work that it specifies has either
been completed or is no longer needed for the the project.
Closed to Active
Reactivated | A
backlog item may need to be reactivated for a variety of reasons. |
Closed in Error |
A backlog item may have been closed by accident and need to be reopened. |
|  |
Fields
Title | Required. The title provides a concise
description of the backlog item. The title should be descriptive
enough to give the team a quick summary of the backlog item. |
Area | The area is used to group the
backlog item into an appropriate feature or team area. The area must be a valid node in the project hierarchy. |
Sprint |
The sprint for which the backlog item is planned. |
Assigned To | The current person that
backlog item is assigned to. This may be any of the project team members. |
Priority |
The importance of the backlog item to the project team. Higher
priority backlog items should be dealt with first. |
Complexity |
A numeric representation of the complexity of the backlog item. |
State | Required. Used to determine the status of the
backlog item in
its lifecycle. A backlog item can be in the New, Active,
Resolved or Closed states. |
Reason | The reason
the backlog item is in the current state. |
Blocked |
A flag to denote that progress on the backlog item has been stopped. |
Description | This field provides a description of the
backlog item. |
History |
The history field contains the set of changes to the backlog item. |
Links | Links to related work items, hyperlinks, changesets, or source code files. |
File Attachments |
Attach related files providing additional documentation for the
backlog item. |
Integration Build |
The build in which the backlog
item was completed. |
Exit Criteria |
Used to flag the backlog item as exit criteria for the sprint. |
Estimate |
The estimate time (in hours)
for the backlog item. |
Remaining Work |
The amount of work (in hours)
left to be done for the backlog item. |
Completed Work |
The amount of work (in hours)
already done for the backlog item. |
|