Backlog is all of the work that remains to be done for a product area - both immediate and well-defined, and long term and visionary.

There are many sources to the backlog list. Product marketing adds work that will fulfill their vision of the product. Sales adds work that will add new sales or extend the product's usefulness to the installed base. Technology adds work that will ensures the product uses the most innovative and productive technology. Development adds work to enhance product functions. Customer support adds work to correct underlying product defects.

The backlog is a prioritized list. The highest priority backlog will be worked on first, the lowest priority backlog will be worked on last. No feature, addition, enhancement to a product is worth fighting over; it is simply either more important or less important at any time to the success and relevance of the product.

The three backlogs that used in Scrum are:

(click on figures for more information)

Scrum Startup Backlog is a template of backlog tasks that a product team can use to create a product backlog and an initial prototype of the product. Upon completion of these tasks, an initial Product backlog is ready and the team(s) is ready to develop the product.

Product Backlog (or, backlog) consists of all features, functions, technology, bugs that will constitute the product once the work has been done in Sprints to turn this backlog into software. Backlog is put into the backlog list whenever it becomes apparent that this is a part of the product that is currently not on the backlog list. The priority of the backlog is determined and maintained by one person, usually the Product Manager.

At the end of a Sprint, backlog that wasn't worked on or is incomplete is returned to the backlog list. Prior to a Sprint, the highest priority backlog is selected for the Sprint. This is removed from the backlog and translated into :

Sprint Backlog consists of tasks that the Scrum Team will do during a Sprint to meet the Sprint goal and turn the Product Backlog selected for the Sprint into software and product.