Agile QuickTip: Add Expiration Dates to Your Backlog Items

Add Expiration Dates to Your Backlog Items

If you have a backlog that’s getting out of control, consider using expiration dates to help control the list and streamline your team’s priorities.

Many mature agile teams or scrum teams that have been together for a while might find themselves with a backlog that’s hundreds if not thousands of items deep. On a list this large, it stands to reason that there will be items that have been around for so long they have become stale or obsolete. This can make it difficult to set priorities or work out what items need addressing next. Sifting through your backlog can become an all-day task.

One technique that I find is really helpful is to place expiration dates on backlog items.

This could differ depending on the task. Maybe you’ll choose six months expiration, twelve months or even twenty four months. That way, you have a set amount of time to implement the item, and you would probably feel comfortable that any task that has been around for two years and that hasn’t bubbled up in priority maybe shouldn’t be there at all, and really isn’t worth implementing.

At the very least, the expiration date forces product owners to really evaluate these items and make a decision as to whether to escalate the priority, or to remove them altogether. This way your team can focus on those things that are really the most valuable, and remove the noise of obsolete or out of date items from the to-do list altogether.

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