Skills Guide

Product Backlog Management

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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.

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Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
6/2/2026
Claude CodeCursorWindsurfCopilotCodex
#backlog#product-management#agile#sprint-planning#epic

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Backend developerClaude CodeCode reviewFrontend developerCursorCopilot

Automated summary

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

How this analysis is made

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

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/download' --output '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/backlog' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0' '.claude/skills/backlog'

Cursor
test -f '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.cursor/skills' && test ! -e '.cursor/skills/backlog' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0' '.cursor/skills/backlog'

Codex
test -f '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.agents/skills' && test ! -e '.agents/skills/backlog' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0' '.agents/skills/backlog'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0'

openskills read 'product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/product-backlog-management-mmh8qqb0/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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