Skills Guide

Product Backlog Management

VerifiedSafe

Creates and maintains a structured product backlog file (backlog.md) with epics, user stories, technical stories, bugs, and spikes. Use it to organize project work items, set priorities (Must have, Should have, Nice to have), and keep track of status throughout development. Ideal for sprint planning and project management tasks.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
506/2/2026
Claude CodeCursorWindsurfCopilotCodex
#backlog#product-management#agile#sprint-planning#epic

Recommended for

Backend developerClaude CodeCode reviewCursorFrontend developerCopilot

Our review

Creates and maintains a structured backlog.md file with epics, user stories, technical stories, bugs, and spikes for project tracking.

Strengths

  • Clear and consistent structure using a predefined template
  • Priority management (Must have, Should have, Nice to have) and dependency tracking
  • Bug and spike tracking with references to stories
  • Automatic status and counter updates

Limitations

  • Requires a specific template to function correctly
  • Does not handle task-level detail (tasks belong to sprint planning)
  • Depends on reading multiple spec files for context
When to use it

When starting a new project or needing to structure and prioritize a product backlog in a standardized markdown format.

When not to use it

For highly agile projects with lightweight backlogs or when using an external project management tool (Jira, Trello, etc.) as the single source of truth.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score88/100

The skill reads project files and writes to a backlog markdown file. It does not execute any destructive commands, network access, or handle sensitive data beyond file operations. No obfuscation or exfiltration risk is present.

No concerns found

Examples

Create a new product backlog
Create a product backlog for our new social media app based on the product brief and architecture docs.
Add an epic to the backlog
Add an epic called 'User Authentication' with priority 'Must have' and three user stories: login, registration, and password reset.
Move completed stories to done
Update the backlog: move all stories with status 'Done' from the epic 'User Profile' to the Completed section.

name: backlog description: Creates and manages product backlog markdown files with epics, user stories, technical stories, bugs, and spikes. Use when creating backlogs, adding epics/stories/tasks, updating story status, or when user mentions backlog, sprint planning, project management, or task tracking.

Goal: Create and maintain a structured backlog.md file at project/workflow/backlog.md using the template at template/backlog.md.

Instructions

  • Read project specs for context before creating or modifying the backlog
  • Hierarchy: Epics (EP-NNN) contain stories (US-NNN, TS-NNN, BG-NNN, SK-NNN). Tasks (T-NNN) are created at sprint level, not in the backlog
  • All IDs are global and sequential within their prefix
  • Use priority levels: Must have, Should have, Nice to have
  • Spikes reference which story they unblock
  • Bugs reference the story they were found in (if known)
  • A story can only belong to one epic
  • Stories that don't fit an epic go in Tech Debt / Infrastructure or Bug Backlog sections

Workflow

  1. Read project specs for context:

    • Product Brief: project/docs/product/product-brief.md
    • Architecture: project/docs/architecture/architecture.md
    • Coding Standards: project/docs/architecture/coding-standards.md
    • Definition of Done: project/docs/governance/definition-of-done.md
    • Decisions: project/docs/architecture/decisions.md

  2. Read the backlog template: template/backlog.md

  3. Check if backlog.md exists at project/workflow/backlog.md. If not, create it from the template.

  4. Create or update the backlog following the template structure:

    • Fill the Epics Overview table with all epics and their priorities
    • Fill Epic Details sections with stories for each epic
    • Populate Tech Debt / Infrastructure and Bug Backlog as needed
    • Move completed stories to the Completed table

  5. Provide summary report to the user

Rules

  • Most stories should be independent per INVEST principles
  • Avoid dependencies between stories as much as possible
  • Do not add task-level detail to the backlog; that belongs in sprint planning
  • Must have bugs take priority over Should have stories in the next sprint
  • Reprioritize at every sprint close based on Scrum Master recommendations
  • Stories use their type-specific format (US/TS/BG/SK) matching sprint.md conventions

Acceptance Criteria

  • Backlog follows the exact structure from template/backlog.md
  • All IDs follow correct patterns (EP-NNN, US-NNN, TS-NNN, BG-NNN, SK-NNN)
  • Each epic has a description, priority, and status
  • Stories use the correct format: "As a [user], I want [what] so that [why]"
  • Priority legend, status values, and ID conventions match the template
  • Epics Overview table accurately reflects current counts and statuses
  • File written to correct path: project/workflow/backlog.md
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