Hojao Azaad - from your messy product backlog
+ a relatable post for all PMs, updates about Sochology and hot new jobs in product market
Salaam, good morning and happy August Soch fam!
August is primarily celebrated as the month Pakistan gained independence. A time to reflect on and learn from history while planning for a better future ahead.
For product managers, it’s also a good time of the year to free ourselves from ideas of the past and unite against a common enemy - kids with those plastic whistles (if you know, you know! Canada chapter - you are blessed) AND messy backlogs that do more harm than good!
Massive backlogs are what product nightmares are made of! Nothing makes sense, everything looks high impact and you don’t know where to even start. In the spirit of Independence, let’s vow to free ourselves from the clutches of messy backlogs and start afresh.
Here’s what you can find in this newsletter:
How to clean up your product backlog
A relatable PM post to make you chuckle
Sochology with Sahil Khosla
Latest Jobs
Step by step guide to cleaning up your product backlog
Product backlogs serve as a repository of ideas, improvements and features that can be a part of your Product’s roadmap. Ideally, your backlog should be a prioritised and estimable list of tickets that you can pick from as per your need, much like a highly organised closet. But if you keep adding tickets to it without taking some out then it will soon take on the shape of that closet in the house which is seconds away from spilling open.
A messy (and/or massive) product backlog can be overwhelming and make it difficult to make the right decisions for your product. Remember, clean space means clean mind! We recommend you take the following steps to free yourself from the clutches of the backlog monster:
Delete what is not needed
Before taking any other step, you should first throughly go through your backlog and identify unnecessary tickets. You may think your backlog only contains necessary tickets but you’ll be surprised to find many tickets which are redundant or now obsolete. As a first step, delete all such tickets so you can understand the actual size of your backlog.
Pro - tip: If you’re not ready to part with some tickets just yet or want to keep track of such low impact tickets then create a separate section for them. This helps you have a prioritised sizeable backlog without being overwhelmed with low impact tickets. Additionally, you can also choose to export your entire backlog to a .CSV file before you get cleaning.
Group backlog items
It is essential to identify what types of tickets are plaguing your backlog. Are they mostly bugs/improvements which were never picked up in sprints? Are they customer/company feedback which have yet to be prioritised? Identify and sort tickets based on some common theme so you can have focused discussions with the relevant teams and also diagnose what has led to this sizeable backlog. Pro - tip: Some tickets may not be redundant but could be very closely related with similar impact. Instead of keeping these small tasks as individual tickets, compile them into one single ticket. This helps bring down the backlog size
Define aim and stakeholders
Are you cleaning up to reduce backlog size or to take out unnecessary tickets? Depending on your aim, you need to define which individuals/teams should be involved in the decision making process. E.g. if you’re just looking to clean up then you can do this alone by identifying redundant tickets but if you’re looking to take out tickets which have low business impact then it’s best to include your business stakeholders and developers to define which tickets can be sent to the bin!
Prioritise based on time and product vision
Now that your backlog is free from redundancies and you have a vision in mind, do not be afraid to set up prioritisation calls with the relevant stakeholders. Present the product visions/roadmap and have the team weigh in on how they think each ticket can help achieve that goal.
By the end of this exercise, you should have a manageable, prioritised backlog. Didn’t achieve that goal? Fret not, you can keep doing this till you’re satisfied with the backlog!
Remember, prevention is better than cure. A well-managed product backlog requires continuous refinement and if you’re constantly adding tickets then you also must be willing to let some go!
💬 Pictures worth a thousand words
There’s nothing more satisfying than coming across a post/image that effortlessly encapsulates a PM struggle.
Does this expresso what a last minute ticket can do to a sprint?
🧠 Sochology: Getting started with No-Code for PMs
We had the pleasure of hosting Sahil Khosla for the latest instalment of the Sochology EduSeries, and it was highly insightful!
Sahil is a Software Engineer turned educator who is now on a mission to empower non-coders.
For many product managers from non-technical backgrounds, lack of coding knowledge can be a limitation for idea execution or can lead to self doubt. With more than a decade of Engineering and Leadership experience, Sahil has founded NoCode. An online education platform focused on teaching individuals to build, automate, and innovate without code
You can learn more about what these are and how to overcome them here.
💼 Latest Jobs
Are you in the market for jobs? Well, our Slack group’s #job-portal channel has been blowing up with interesting vacancies.
For example, these employers are looking for product peeps with solid Soch:
Want a role serving customers from many fortune 500 companies? Apply for the role of Product Analyst at Algo. Head to our Slack to reach out to the recruiter with any questions
ScaleX is looking for a UX/UI Designer to help craft extraordinary apps and websites for their startups. Follow this thread on our Slack.
Looking for your big break into product management? Apply for the role of product management intern at Wooqlaw
Neem is hiring for multiple product roles.
Oware technologies is awaiting your application for an Associate Product Manager role.
If you or someone you know is looking for options or needs support in breaking into or acing a product role, you might want to jump into our Slack. Our job portal channel is heating up!
Till next time, keep your Soch on.
Best,
Sarrah