# Managing Backlog

> Refine, prioritize, and clean the product backlog to ensure the team is always working on the highest-value tasks.

- Skill: `7a336e6e/managing-backlog` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add 7a336e6e/managing-backlog`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/7a336e6e/managing-backlog/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Product & Planning
- Author: 7a336e6e (https://skillmd.com/u/7a336e6e)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/7a336e6e/managing-backlog

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# Managing Backlog

## Goal
Maintain a healthy, prioritized list of work items that are ready for development ("Definition of Ready"), preventing bottlenecks and "garbage in, garbage out."

## When to Use
- Before sprint planning.
- When the backlog grows too large (> 50 items).
- When stakeholders add new requests.

## Instructions

### 1. Prioritization Frameworks
Don't just use "High/Medium/Low". Use a model:
- **RICE**: Reach * Impact * Confidence / Effort.
- **MoSCoW**: Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have.
- **Cost of Delay**: "If this waits a month, how much do we lose?"

### 2. Refinement (Grooming)
Make tasks actionable.
- **Clarify**: Does everyone understand the "Why"?
- **Estimate**: Is it a 1-day task or a 2-week task?
- **Split**: If it's big, break it down.

### 3. Definition of Ready (DoR)
A task can only move to "Todo" if:
- It has a clear user story.
- It has acceptance criteria.
- It has dependencies identified.
- It has an estimate.

### 4. Backlog Hygiene
- **Delete**: If it's been in the backlog for 6 months and nobody cares, delete it.
- **Archive**: Don't let the "Icebox" become a graveyard.

## Constraints

### ✅ Do
- **DO**: Re-prioritize regularly. Priorities change.
- **DO**: Say "No". A backlog is not a wishlist; it's a plan.
- **DO**: Link backlog items to strategic goals (OKRs).

### ❌ Don't
- **DON'T**: Let stakeholders push items to "In Progress" directly.
- **DON'T**: Estimate in hours. Use points or T-shirt sizes (S, M, L) for relative complexity.
- **DON'T**: Allow "Zombie tickets" (tasks with no clear owner or value) to survive.

## Output Format
- Updates to `tasks.md` (priority ordering, new tags).
- `backlog_refinement_report.md`.

## Dependencies
- `product/defining-user-stories/SKILL.md`
- `planner/project-planning/SKILL.md`