The Scrum Guide says, “The Product Backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product. It is the single source of work undertaken by the Scrum Team.” But there’s a lot of work done that many would say does not improve the product. How does that work?

The Product Backlog is the primary list of work items that the Scrum Team needs to address to improve the product. However, there are other types of work that the team might undertake that are not directly about product improvement but are essential for the overall process and the team’s efficiency. These can include maintenance tasks, process improvements, technical debt, and impediments.

Types of Work in Scrum

Product Improvement:

• Features: New functionalities that add value to the product.
• Enhancements: Improvements to existing features.

Technical Debt:

• Refactoring: Improving the code structure without changing its behavior to make future work easier and reduce potential issues.
• Optimization: Enhancing performance or scalability aspects of the system.

Maintenance:

• Bug Fixes: Correcting defects to ensure the product works as intended.
• Updates: Keeping dependencies, libraries, or frameworks up to date.

Process Improvement:

• Retrospective Actions: Implementing improvements identified during retrospectives.
• Tooling Enhancements: Improving or adopting new tools to streamline workflows.

Learning and Experimentation:

• Spikes: Time-boxed research activities to investigate uncertainties and gather information.
• Training: Gaining new skills or knowledge required by the team.

Impediments:

• Blocker Resolution: Addressing issues that are hindering the team’s progress.

Managing Non-Product Work

Let’s face it, the primary focus of the Product Backlog is on items that improve the product. But it’s essential to recognize and manage other types of work that the team needs to undertake. Here’s how you can handle this:

Product Backlog:

• Include high-priority technical debt, maintenance, and process improvement items in the Product Backlog. These items are ordered by the Product Owner along with feature and enhancement items based on their impact on the product and the team’s efficiency.

Separate Backlogs or Lists:

• Technical Debt Backlog: Maintain a separate list for technical debt items if they are extensive. Prioritize and integrate them into the Product Backlog as needed.
• Impediment Log: Track impediments separately to ensure they are visible and addressed promptly. The Scrum Master typically manages this log.

Sprint Planning:

• During Sprint Planning, the team and Product Owner can decide how much capacity to allocate to different types of work. This ensures that the team balances new feature development with maintenance, technical debt reduction, and process improvements.

Definition of Done:

• Ensure that the Definition of Done includes criteria related to addressing technical debt and maintenance tasks. This ensures these items are not neglected and are consistently addressed as part of the regular workflow.

While the Product Backlog is the single source of work for the Scrum Team, it can, and should, include a variety of work items beyond just new features and enhancements. The team needs to effectively manage and prioritize all types of necessary work. The team needs to maintain a healthy balance between improving the product, reducing technical debt, maintaining the system, and continuously improving their processes.