Have Fun In Scrum! The Menu. Scrum and Backlog Prioritization

Scrum and Backlog Prioritization

I think of Scrum Product Backlog prioritization as if it is a restaurant experience. The Product Backlog itself is a menu arranged to fit the customer’s needs. It keeps in mind any dependencies (the chef can’t cook the eggs if the chicken hasn’t laid them yet) and is prioritized with their most important needs at the top.

The customer chooses from the menu based upon what they crave the most while keeping within their budget and time constraints. They put their top choices in the order of what they desire most, followed by things that would be nice to have if they have the appetite and time to enjoy them.

In this analogy, the Product Owner (PO) takes on the role of the waiter. The PO interacts with the customers and understands their desires. The waiter (PO) is well-versed in the food items and, in some cases, can help the business decide what to order. The PO then relays the orders to the chefs (or developers in this scenario), and they begin to cook the meal.

It would be considered bad taste for the customer to go into the kitchen and disrupt the chefs by asking for additional items while cooking. So the customer waits a bit until that food course is ready (Sprint Review) and gives feedback on the dishes they received. At this point, the customer offers new desires and thoughts as they refine their tastes.

The Scrum Master is the Maître D’ in this scenario. The Scrum Master facilitates the relevant conversations and ensures the restaurant’s (Scrum’s) standards processes are followed. The Scrum Master is always looking for ways to improve the restaurant’s processes and help the chefs with problems. This is important so that the chefs focus solely on creating the food.

As the customer prioritizes the menu, they decide what they really want. Does the main meal consist of steak or swordfish? A simple salad? Do they want them all? Do they have room in the budget for everything? What if they do not know yet what they want? Let’s say they thought they wanted a burger originally but developed a taste for surf and turf as the evening went on.

Change is a complication in traditional project management, but not in Scrum. However, the customer needs to be aware that it takes longer to prepare surf and turf and that it is more expensive than a burger. It will add more ingredients, time and effort, therefore cost, to their order (product).

Scrum breaks the project into Sprints, and the Scrum Team conducts Planning at the start of each one. This just-in-time planning allows a project to adapt to the customer’s emerging desires.

Emerging desires could be discoveries in tastes, organizational processes, emerging technologies, business environment factors, etc.  The food is delivered in courses (Sprints). In Sprint 1, the course may be the appetizers. Then the customer decides what it wants next in Sprint 2. In Sprint 3, the customer decides the subsequent course, and so on.

After a Sprint, as the customer enjoys the product, they communicate with the restaurant staff their thoughts on that particular course during the Sprint Review. This would be as if the entire staff, including the chefs, came to the table to present the food and gather feedback – great restaurant, right? Then, they make decisions on the best way to adapt the product to their newly discovered tastes.  

In traditional project management methods, like Waterfall, the customer pre-orders food and cannot easily change their mind. At least not without quite a lot of hassle. The Scrum framework works really well when the customer does not know exactly what they are hungry for, or there many unknowns in what they want for their meal.

The mass movement to using the Scrum framework is due to Scrum allowing for an adaptable and transparent plan. Accountability is shared throughout the project creating an atmosphere of communication and collaboration. As new discoveries are made and previous unknowns become clear, the Scrum plan is adapted to accommodate the new desires.

Bon Appetit!

If you’re interested in coaching leadership, read the Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart book in our recommended reading list https://www.clearlyagileinc.com/agile-books/.

For more insights into Scrum, check out Clearly Agile’s site at www.ClearlyAgileInc.com. Based out of Tampa, FL.

About the Author: As a technical Scrum Master, it might be surprising that I am not technically inclined. After years in Project Management, I converted to Agile and the Scrum framework after I discovered the real value in adaptation, communication, and transparency. Rachel Schumacher PMP, CSM