Product Backlog vs Sprint Backlog: Differences & Similarities

While a product starts with one idea and vision, it must soon grow with multiple ideas and features. However, there will be numerous ideas and tasks, and product teams need a better way to manage all possible work that can go into product development. They need guidance and direction to understand what work they should do and when to provide optimal value to customers and businesses. Product and Sprint backlogs offer this guidance, albeit in different manners. In this article, we will understand what a product and sprint backlog is and compare product backlog vs sprint backlog.

In the late 20th century, software product development underwent a revolutionary phase. Agile approaches were being shaped to solve better the challenges of changing business needs. "The New Product Development Game" introduced a fresh approach and a new product development approach. It introduced events, roles, and artifacts to manage the development process. One of the artifacts is the p backlog, which represents all the work to be done for the Product's success; another is the sprint backlog, which defines the work to be done immediately in a fixed timebox called Sprint. Let us dive deep into product backlog vs sprint backlog in an Agile environment.

What is a Product Backlog?

A product's journey starts with generating and managing ideas. Product teams must take care of multiple dimensions to realize those ideas to build a valuable product. The Product, which results from such ideas, must solve user problems comprehensively. Hence, there will be multiple features or product items that the team will need to develop. Besides the user-facing features, there will be many other technical tasks that will need to be considered. Such backend items may relate to performance, safety, security, scalability, experience, and many other factors.

A product backlog is a comprehensive database of all such ideas and the work to be done in the future for product development and growth. It contains all ideas, features, and technical tasks that must be performed to ensure that the Product continues delivering value to customers. It also includes all the items that help the Product evolve to remain relevant sustainably over a long period.

What is a Sprint Backlog?

A Sprint Backlog resembles the Product Backlog in that it also contains the list of the work items for development. However, they are quite different in how and why they are used.

Scrum works in fixed timeboxes called Sprint. Each Sprint lasts about 1-4 weeks typically and starts with the event of Sprint Planning. During this event, the team reviews the prioritized stories from the product backlog. They get this clarity from the product owner if further clarity is required. Then they choose the stories that they can complete in the current Sprint. Many teams use story points to determine the work they can finish during the Sprint based on their experience, typically represented by velocity.

What are the Types of Backlogs?

Beyond the product backlog and sprint backlog, there are other types of backlogs too that agile teams use to facilitate the product development flow. Let's see what those backlogs are.

1. Release Backlog

Development teams use releases to organize the availability of such new features to customers. All the user stories and features required in a release are maintained in the release backlog if the team uses it.
Once the release is done, the Backlog becomes empty until the teams fill it again.

2. Defect Backlog

Some teams may use a subset of the product backlog to track defects separately. Like the PB, the defect backlog gets filled when a new defect is found. The defects are prioritized consistently, and the team pulls some defects during sprint planning to be part of the Sprint Backlog.

Product Backlog vs Sprint Backlog [Head-to-Head Comparison]

Parameters	Product Backlog	Sprint Backlog
Scope	All work required for the product	All work required for the product increment
Ownership	Product Owner	Developers
Validity	Till the product exists	Till the Sprint is over
Refinement	Continuous Refinement	During Sprint Planning and Sprint
Prioritization	Based on customer & business value	Based on developer team capacity aligned with overall prioritization
Scaling	Single Product Backlog for a product, irrespective of the number of Scrum teams	Each Scrum team has its own Sprint Backlog.
Change	A living document that undergoes regular change.	Fixed except for rare circumstances

Difference Between Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog

Let us understand the factors that give further clarification on product backlog vs sprint backlog and explain the difference between product backlog and sprint backlog for better understanding.

1. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Scope

A product backlog is a list of all features, enhancements, and functionalities that may be required to be developed by the product team, thus covering the entire scope of the product. On the contrary, A Sprint Backlog is the list of all user stories, features, and functionalities the development team is expected to develop during the Sprint. It is essential to understand that Sprint Backlog is a subset of the product backlog while talking about sprint backlog vs product backlog.

2. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Ownership

The product owner owns and maintains the product backlog. While the product owners may consult with stakeholders and teams, they are ultimately responsible for everything in the product backlog. The development team owns the Sprint Backlog. They consult the Product Owner anytime during the Sprint if further clarity is required on the stories in the product backlog. A Product Owner certification course provides in-depth clarity on the ownership aspects.

3. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Validity

The product backlog exists as long as the product exists, as it contains all the work required for the product, including features, issues, bugs, support requests, and technical work. On the other hand, The Sprint Backlog ceases to exist once the Sprint is over. Then, it is repopulated with the Sprint Planning for the next Sprint. Generally, incomplete user stories from the earlier Sprint are also added, but it is not mandatory.

4. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Refinement

Different items in the product backlog will have different clarity levels. The product owner and the Scrum team refine the Backlog to add sufficient details to each of them. When they have enough details for the developers to start working on it, they are ready to be pulled into the Sprint Backlog.

The team refines the Sprint Backlog further as needed during Sprint Planning. Additionally, during the Sprint execution, the team can seek further clarity from the Product Owner.

5. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Prioritization

The product backlog is expected to be in a prioritized state. The features or product backlog items should be on top to indicate their priority, with low-priority items at the bottom. The Product Owner is responsible for maintaining this priority in the product backlog.
Within the Sprint Backlog, there may be prioritization, but developers can pull an appropriate story to work on if such a choice is aligned with the sprint goal.

Attending a high-quality Agile training program will help you acquire better prioritization skills, as they are critical for successful product development efforts.

6. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Scaling

If there are multiple teams working on the same product, the product backlog remains the same for all such teams. It is the single source of truth for the product. However, every Scrum team will maintain its own Sprint Backlog. Usually, in such cases, there is one more coordination step between the teams required to ensure appropriate stories go to the appropriate team's Sprint Backlog.

7. Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog: Change

Product Backlog is an evolving artifact in that as new ideas and work keep coming, they will be added, and the Backlog will continue to grow. It acts as an evolving roadmap for the Product.

Unlike the product backlog, the Sprint Backlog generally remains stable once the team selects stories for it. The team may make any adjustments to the chosen Sprint Backlog in exceptional circumstances only through consensus between the Product Owner and Developers.

Product Backlog vs. Sprint Backlog Example

One of the best ways to understand any concept is to look at the example of how the concept plays out in the real world. So, let's see an example of how agile product backlog vs sprint backlog compare if you are developing a product. We will consider a task management application for this example.

1. Product Backlog

• To-Do list creation and setting up the due date
• Add a feature to allow tasks to be archived when the user marks them complete.
• Add a feature to allow users to create task categories (e.g., Personal, Work) and assign tasks to these categories.
• Add a feature to set reminders for tasks.
• Add a feature to allow users to add notes/remarks, including documents, links, and images, to the tasks.
• Add a feature to set specific tasks as repeating tasks

We have not considered standard requirements like registration and login for this example. Usually, they are part of any product backlog initially and are the first ones to be developed.

2. Sprint Backlog

The Scrum team does the Sprint Planning and decides that the following features can be implemented during the current Sprint.

• To-Do list creation and setting up the due date
• Add a feature to allow tasks to be archived when the user marks them complete.
• Add a feature to allow users to create task categories (e.g., Personal, Work) and assign tasks to these categories.

As you can see, the Sprint Backlog is a subset of the Product Backlog, created by considering the prioritized requirements. High-priority items are handled first. In addition to the priority, the team also considers the total team capacity (availability of team members, additional other work like meetings, etc.) while planning the Sprint. The above example highlights the similarities and differences between the product backlog vs the sprint backlog example to reiterate the differences that we discussed earlier in the article.

How Are They Similar?

Despite the differences, both these backlogs are similar in that they serve as reference points for the team. Both help the teams remain focused and clear about the expectations and direction they should take. They also help teams remain aligned with business objectives and goals.

What Should You Choose Between Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog?

There are multiple criteria that you should consider while choosing the work to transfer between Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog. During Sprint Planning, the team focuses on high-priority items on top of the Product Backlog. However, the chosen items must be aligned with the Sprint goal that the team defines. Another criterion for choosing the work is team capacity. The developers should determine how much they can accomplish at the end of the sprint and pick up stories from the product backlog accordingly. Scrum Master helps teams make these choices, and undergoing Scrum Master training can equip you with all these required skills.

Conclusion

Product and Sprint backlogs provide a precise reference point for the product teams and stakeholders. They also serve as instruments of shared understanding between customers and developers. They are structured to enable teams to focus their efforts on the most valuable work. Product Backlog enables strategic alignment, while Sprint Backlog helps the development team focus and deliver product increments. Together, they enable the product teams to plan, manage, and deliver valuable solutions to customers while ensuring business results.