The following article is part of the self-preparation for the modern BVOP® Product Management Certification program.
The items at the top of the product backlog are considered to be the most important, meaningful, and have significant business value for the product or organization, and are usually developed before the tasks that are down the list.
- Business attributes of the Product backlog items
- Definition of business attributes
- Business value points of the Product backlog items
- Product backlog items prioritization based on business value points
- Product backlog items arrangement based on business value attributes
Prioritization of the product backlog is an important activity executed by the product management office. Items order guides the upcoming work on the product and focus the attention of all teams in a given direction.
Product Backlog Prioritization is a part of the Product Backlog management activity.
Business attributes of the Product backlog items
The BVOP suggest that for transparent and accurate prioritization, each product backlog item needs business attributes like:
- Importance
- Urgency
- Attractiveness
- Long term
- Profit
- Cost-saving
- Time-saving
- Innovation
Attributes can have a numeric value and are taken into account when prioritizing the product backlog.
Importance
The importance level of the item. Presented with a numerical value (from 1 to 10, for example).
Urgency
Indicates how urgent the item is. Presented with a numerical value (from 1 to 10, for example).
Attractiveness
It presents the level of attractiveness for users. Presented with a numerical value (from 1 to 10, for example).
Long term
Represented with a boolean (yes or no) or a numeric value, for example from 1 to 10, where 1 does not mean a long-term benefit, while 10 registers a very long-term value or opportunity for the product or organization.
Profit
It symbolizes whether users or organizations will gain a profit from the realization of the item. It can be presented as a boolean (yes or no) or in a numeric value, for example from 1 to 10, where 1 can mean a very low-profit rate, or none, while 10 indicates high or guaranteed profit.
Cost-saving
Will the organization, users, or other parties save cost if this item is implemented? Presented as boolean (yes or no) or numerical value, for example from 1 to 10, where 1 means insignificant cost-savings, while 10 means very serious cost optimizations.
Time-saving
Is the item providing a time-saving opportunity for the product users? Presented as boolean (yes or no) or numerical value, for example from 1 to 10, where 1 means a minimal amount of time saved, while 10 means that users of other parties may benefit from substantial time saving opportunities.
Definition of business attributes
Each product backlog item may have more business attributes like “Speed level”, “Team enabling”, “Difficulty level”, and more.
The Business Value-Oriented Product Management (BVOPDM) office creates the business value attributes, decides their count, usage, and names.
The values of all the business attributes are validated with users with product knowledge. Best guesses for each attribute should be given. The initial given values may be changed later if new information about the users, product, or other factors is collected.
Business value points of the Product backlog items
All items in the product backlog need all their business attributes filled out, so calculations of total business points for each item are made easy.
Business attributes may be added or removed at any stage, but this may seriously harm the business points calculations, and all the product backlog items would need recalculations.
The total points of all business attributes of an item give an abstract representation of its business value.
For increased transparency and accuracy, the numeral values of the attributes may be based on questions and answers, where each answer represents actual value (from 1 to 10 or yes or no).
Example
Defining “Urgency” attribute
Product teams ask stakeholders a question like:
"What will happen if we do not implement this product backlog item this quarter?"
and provide predefined answers:
- Don't know (Represents numeral value 1)
- Nothing significant (Represents numeral value 2)
- Product, in general, may be harmed (Represents numeral value 3)
- The product will definitely suffer (Represents numeral value 4)
- Severe business losses (Represents numeral value 5)
Defining “Importance” attribute
Product teams ask stakeholders a question like:
"What is the expected users' adoption of this e item’s outcome of this item?"
and provide predefined answers:
- Don't know (Represents numeral value 1)
- Some of them will notice it (Represents numeral value 2)
- Some of them will use it (Represents numeral value 3)
- Most of them will use it (Represents numeral value 4)
- It is crucial for the entire product (Represents numeral value 5)
Providing predefined questions and answers for all business attributes to the stakeholders may return a clear total business value (business value points) of a product backlog item when all numeral values are summed.
In some cases, if stakeholders are not aware of the predefined answers they might provide more accurate and transparent information.
Product backlog items prioritization based on business value points
The total business value points of the items in the product backlog may be a criteria for prioritizing them. Ordering by business value points is a fully transparent backlog prioritization method where each item has a specific position in the backlog based on multiple business attributes and is validated by stakeholders.
Product backlog items arrangement based on business value attributes
Based on the users' and/or development needs, processes, resources, and other factors, the product backlog items may be reordered or filtered by any of the business attributes at any time. This allows the BVOPDM office to focus on specific items at any time.
For example, the arranging may be based on items with high “Urgency” and “Importance” values, which makes apparent the most important items that need to be developed as soon as possible. Ordering or filtering may be based on items with high “Innovation” and “Attractiveness” values, which gives more significance to items that may amaze the product users. If the order is based on items with high “Cost” and “Time-saving values”, the current product development effort is spent on optimization and profit-oriented functionalities.
The following issues related to chapter "Product Backlog Prioritization" are included in the certification exam. The sequence of questions is presented in the table.
The data is current as of November 25, 2023, 6:12 pm
| ID | Issue | Time | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Business value points of the Product backlog items | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 1 | Business attributes of the Product backlog items | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 2 | Attractiveness | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 3 | Definition of business attributes | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 4 | Product backlog items prioritization based on business value points | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 5 | Profit | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 6 | Long term | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 7 | Time-saving | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 8 | Product backlog items arrangement based on business value attributes | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 9 | Cost-saving | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 10 | Urgency | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
| 11 | Importance | 60 sec | PDM, PM |
Comments from the BVOP™ community on “Product Backlog Prioritization”
Summary
Top items in the product backlog are prioritized and have high business value, and are developed before lower-priority tasks.
The BVOP recommends that each product backlog item should have business attributes such as importance, urgency, attractiveness, long-term value, profit, cost-saving, time-saving, and innovation for transparent and accurate prioritization.
These attributes can have a numeric value and are considered when prioritizing the product backlog. The importance, urgency, and attractiveness are presented with a numerical value from 1 to 10. Long-term value is represented with a boolean or a numerical value from 1 to 10, where 1 indicates a short-term benefit and 10 indicates a long-term value.
Profit can be presented as a boolean or in a numerical value from 1 to 10, where 1 can mean a low-profit rate or none, while 10 indicates high or guaranteed profit. Cost-saving is presented as a boolean or numerical value from 1 to 10, where 1 means insignificant cost-savings and 10 means significant cost optimizations.
Time-saving is presented as a boolean or numerical value from 1 to 10, where 1 means minimal time saved and 10 means substantial time-saving opportunities. Prioritizing the product backlog is crucial for the product management office. It guides upcoming work and focuses teams in a specific direction. It's part of the backlog management activity.
Business attributes are additional characteristics that can be assigned to each item in a product backlog. These attributes may include things like "Speed level", "Team enabling", and "Difficulty level". The BVOPDM office determines the number, names, and usage of these attributes based on their business value. The values for each attribute are validated with users who have product knowledge, and best guesses are made initially. However, these values may be changed later if new information becomes available.
The product backlog items must have all their business attributes filled out for easy calculation of total business points. Adding or removing attributes may harm the calculations and require recalculations for all items. The total points of an item's business attributes represent its abstract business value. To improve transparency and accuracy, attribute values may be based on questions and answers with each answer representing a value from 1 to 10 or yes/no.
Predefined questions and answers for business attributes can determine the total business value of a product backlog item. However, stakeholders may provide more accurate information if they are not limited to predefined answers.
Prioritize product backlog items based on their business value points. This transparent method involves ordering the items based on multiple business attributes, validated by stakeholders. The items can be rearranged or filtered based on users' or development needs, allowing for focus on specific items at any time. For example, items can be arranged based on urgency and importance, innovation and attractiveness, or cost and time-saving values.
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