Creating a Sprint Backlog: Your Guide To Scrum Project Management

While agile frameworks involve less planning than traditional methodologies, it doesn’t mean you must abandon planning altogether. Scrum teams benefit from the clarity of the sprint backlog, a Scrum artifact that lists all work items a team must complete within a sprint. 

This checklist provides a clear outline of upcoming work while making progress easier to track. Not only does it prevent scope creep, but it also ensures that all members of the Scrum team are aligned. 

In a nutshell:

• A sprint backlog is a checklist of work items that require completion within a sprint
• The core components of a sprint backlog are sprint goals, product backlog items (PBIs), tasks, and burndown charts
• Creating a sprint backlog involves setting a sprint goal, identifying relevant PBIs, and then breaking PBIs down into smaller tasks

What are sprint backlogs?

A sprint backlog is a checklist of work items a Scrum team plans to complete during a sprint. Building a sprint backlog begins with a sprint planning session that sets a sprint goal and then selects product backlog items that help achieve it.

The main goal of a sprint backlog is to provide a uniform guideline for all sprint-related work. By defining all necessary tasks, sprint backlogs also prevent scope creep.

Sprint backlog vs product backlog

A product backlog is a prioritized list of work items that must be completed to accomplish a product development goal. Sprint backlogs are derived from product backlogs. They consist of work items a Scrum team has elected to complete within a time-boxed increment or sprint. 

Both provide a clear outline of the required work. However, while product backlogs focus on a product or project’s big picture, sprint backlogs divide larger goals into actionable tasks. 

If you need a more detailed comparison, check out Product Backlog vs. Sprint Backlog.

The 4 main components of a sprint backlog

A sprint backlog consists of the following components: sprint goals, product backlog items, tasks, and burndown charts.

Sprint goal

A sprint goal is a measurable objective that the Scrum team aims to achieve within a sprint. 

Product backlog items (PBIs)

During sprint planning, the Scrum team selects which items from the product backlog they want to complete within the sprint. These items, called PBIs, typically contribute to the sprint goal. 

PBIs usually take the form of user stories, which are product features described from the perspective of end users. 

Tasks

A task is a PBI broken down into an actionable piece of work. All tasks under a sprint backlog include the following attributes:

• Description: What does the task aim to accomplish?
• Deliverable: What tangible output will this task produce?
• Priority: How important is the task in relation to other tasks?
• Assignee: Who is responsible for completing this task?
• Estimates: What is the ideal number of story points or hours required to complete this task?
• Status: How far is the task from completion?
• Due date: When should this task be completed?

Burndown chart

A burndown chart visualizes the amount of work a Scrum team needs to compete against the amount of time remaining.

Shortcut Reports use your work data to provide real-time representations of work completed against remaining time. 

How to create a sprint backlog

Scrum teams build the sprint backlog during sprint planning. Steps include setting sprint goals, identifying relevant PBIs, breaking PBIs into tasks, and then prioritizing and delegating tasks. 

Step 1: Set sprint goals

The first step to creating a sprint backlog is setting the sprint goal. The sprint goal sets the direction for upcoming work and helps you identify necessary requirements and steps. 

When setting goals, identify clear standards for quality and completeness. This keeps the team aligned on how to execute work. 

Also, be realistic about due dates. Set deadlines based on how fast your team works to reduce the risk of burnout.  

Example: You’re working on a website to market your B2B SaaS tool. A possible goal could be to optimize the landing page for SEO. 

Step 2: Identify relevant PBIs

Once you’ve set your sprint goals, check your product backlog for relevant items. Which PBIs, when completed, can help you accomplish your sprint goal?

Note that steps one and two are interchangeable. You can study your product backlog first, then build sprint goals based on the items you want to work on. 

Example: After setting SEO optimization for the landing page as a sprint goal, you would look through your product backlog for relevant items. Possible items can include:

• Implement responsive web design
• Improve website load speed 
• Write SEO-optimized landing page copy

Step 3: Break PBIs down into tasks

Break the PBIs you’ve selected into actionable steps. This provides a clearer outline for the work that the team needs to accomplish. 

Example: Let’s work on the PBI entitled “implement responsive web design.” The tasks involved in completing this PBI would include:

• Build a wireframe
• Create a CSS script for the new layout
• Redesign assets for mobile-friendliness
• Draft branding guidelines 
• Test design across multiple devices and browser sizes

Step 4: Organize tasks 

Sort the available tasks according to priority. This will help your team set a steady pace for work and ensure that the deliverables that provide the most value are completed on time. 

Once tasks have been identified, organized, and prioritized, assign them to the team members you believe will execute them best. 

Example: Most tasks listed in the previous example depend on one another. Therefore, you should sort them in chronological order. You would likely prioritize designing the wireframe before drafting a CSS script and testing the design. 

However, drafting branding guidelines and redesigning assets can occur concurrently with other tasks. 

Best practices for effective sprint backlog management

Because the team is reliant on the sprint backlog to guide upcoming work, effective backlog management is essential. Here are some best practices :

Use a project management tool

Project management tools help you visualize your sprint backlog while connecting work items to relevant codes, applications, documents, and other related files. They streamline assigning tasks, managing work, and tracking progress. 

Set a Definition of Done (DoD)

It's essential to clearly define the standards that a work item must meet to be considered complete. Creating this shared understanding of quality or completion between your Scrum team ensures technical excellence across every task and minimizes the risk of technical debt or future rework. 

The DoD requires buy-in from all members of the product team, including stakeholders. This guarantees that everyone will be satisfied with the completed deliverable. 

Examples of DoD criteria for software projects include:

• Have all tests been completed?
• Has the feature been peer reviewed?
• Have acceptance criteria been met?
• Has documentation been updated?

Set realistic goals

The idea of clearing the product backlog as quickly as possible can be tempting. However, committing large amounts of work within short sprints will only lead to burnout. The recovery period would cost you resources, further delaying completion.

A core principle of Agile is maintaining a sustainable pace. This means being realistic about the amount of work your team can accomplish within a sprint. 

As the team tackles more tasks, you’ll gain a clearer picture of how long it takes to complete each task and what factors help speed or slow the process down. Incorporate this data into your next sprint plan to ensure that everyone meets goals within the designated timeframes. 

Summary 

Scrum’s focus on flexibility doesn’t mean abandoning structure entirely. Without clear guidelines to refer to, your team might end up doing more or less work than needed.

The solution is to create a sprint backlog based on your product backlog. With a sprint backlog, the entire team has a shared understanding of what work they need to execute within the sprint. The guidance of a sprint backlog aligns teams, ensures quality work, and prevents scope creep.

The Shortcut’s project management software gives you all the tools you need to execute successful Scrum projects. Its Iterations feature helps you run sprints by providing backlog customization, workflow management, and real-time reporting. 

Read the Shortcut Iterations page for more information!