I had the utmost pleasure of working with a great team in London this past weekend. They had given a great run at 29 sprints, and had some questions about how to proceed. The experience was wonderful – people there ‘get it’ and aren’t afraid to try new ideas.

After the first day of training, like proper Londoners, we headed to the pub for a pint. Somehow we began talking about back pain with the manager, who peppered his story with a hilarious quip: “Oooo, me back.” He said this several times, which had us all laughing and repeating it after him.  Good times. By the second day of Scrum training, this had morphed into “Oooo, me backlog”.

While lifting weights the other day, which is a luxury (?) I don’t get very often, I had the opportunity to say ‘ooo, me back’. The squats killed.

My back is weak because I haven’t worked out consistently in about, well, ever since I started that darn book. Anyway, lately I’ve chosen great Spanish food and wonderful French desserts in addition to the occasional English pub on my recent journeys, ignoring regular exercise and all things bland and boring and good for you. The most exercise I’ve had lately (besides the occasional run) is schlepping my laptop bag from airport to airport. The only ab workouts I get are putting on my shoes in the morning (you know, you kinda need to bend at the waist a little). So it’s no wonder my back is weak. I could feel it creaking as I lifted all of 75 pounds on the Smith machine, not much by most standards, even though my legs were doing most of the work (and their condition is another story). Yesterday I paid for it: I could barely sit, stand, and the ol’ sciatic is acting up again, causing left leg pain. Say it with me, “oooo, me back”.

A weak back is due to a weak core. Weakness causes injury, bench time, sickness. Just like a weak product backlog (there it is, the allusion to Scrum – you knew it was coming!), a weak back causes pain elsewhere. A weak, poorly written, poorly organized product backlog causes the team to suffer, causes nerve pain. A strong product backlog is a strong spine for the team and the organization to work together; a weak product backlog causes stiffness, soreness and pain.

How do you strengthen your backlog? Just like any weight training regime: consistency, repetition, and working on weak areas.  The product backlog is the spine of your Scrum team or organization. Keeping it in good shape takes discipline and lots of hard work.

Here are some exercises you can do for your product backlog to keep it healthy and in tip-top shape:

-    Put it on a diet. If product backlog items are too big near the top, the team will spend lots of time in planning trying to merely understand the work at hand. Put items near the top on a diet; make them small and easily estimated by the team. Big backlog items at the top overload the spine, makes it top heavy. It's OK if your product backlog is pear-shaped!
 
-    Regular exercise. Everyday, scan the backlog for changes, clarity. Help the team by having talks with them about backlog items. Plan estimation meetings mid-sprint if you're having trouble getting your product owner's time.

-    Think about the next workout. Scan the product backlog for the next items that you want in the upcoming sprint. Give the team the ability to have an early look at the PBIs so that they can start working on the problem.

-    Give it the right gear. Keep your backlog in a place that is easily accessible, maintainable, and visible to everyone. Just like a good pair of running shoes, or a neck stabilizer for a bar, the right gear make it easier to do the task at hand, and prevent injury. Make life easy on yourself and find a way to automate some of the heavy lifting in your backlog.

-    Work out with a friend. You have a team of people who can help you with the backlog – the Scrum team and users (if you’re not one yourself). Enlist these people to help you write user stories, understand technical alternatives, trade-offs, best practices, dependencies.

A strong backlog is evident; it supports, not hinders, the team. A strong product backlog takes practice, discussion, and diligence.

Keep the pain out of your back.... log!