Sprint Backlog

What is the Sprint Backlog?

The sprint backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the Product Increment and realizing the Sprint goal. The Sprint Backlog is a forecast by the development team about what functionality will be in the next increment and the work needed to deliver that functionality into a "Done" increment. 

To maximize the transparency of essential information so that everyone has the same understanding, Scrum has designed artifacts. Sprint Backlog is one of the Scrum Artifacts. 

Who selects PBI for Sprint Backlog?

The Sprint goal is one of the outcomes of Sprint Planning. It gives you a clear understanding of the expectations from the current Sprint. After understanding and crafting the goal, the Development Team then chooses the PBIs from the Product Backlog. The Development Team also adds any new items that are required to deliver the necessary Product Increment. 

There will always be a question, "Why should the Development Team choose the PBIs?". It's the Development Team who does the work, and in Scrum, nobody tells the team how to come up with Product Increment. So, it's the Development Team who comes with the Sprint Backlog. 

Is Sprint Backlog just a list PBIs?

No, it is not just the list of PBIs for the Sprint Goal. Scrum encourages continuous improvement, and the identified high priority process improvements from previous Sprint Retrospective will also be part of the Sprint Backlog. 

Will Sprint Backlog be frozen after Sprint Planning?

The Development Team continues to modify the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint. The Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. There may be things to add; there may be things to remove, and there could be things to edit as well. The plan will not be the same in the complex domain as ideas emerge as and when they get validated.

As and when the Development team plans and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal, the backlog emerges. When the team senses new work, they add it to the Sprint Backlog. 

They update the remaining estimated work as and when work gets completed or performed. Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. 

The Sprint Backlog is a highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint, and it belongs solely to the Development Team.