What is a Backlog?
A backlog is the prioritized list of all work a team could do but has not started yet. Learn how to build and maintain a healthy backlog.
A backlog is the ordered list of everything a team might work on — bugs, tasks, features, improvements — that has not been started. The highest-priority items sit at the top and get pulled into the board when the team has capacity. A healthy backlog is the team's source of truth for what comes next.
Backlog grooming
A backlog rots without upkeep. Grooming means splitting big items, rewriting vague ones, deleting the obsolete, and reordering by priority — a fifteen-minute habit that keeps planning fast and honest.
Product backlog vs sprint backlog
In scrum terms, the product backlog holds everything; the sprint backlog is the subset the team committed to this sprint. On a pure kanban board, the backlog is simply the 'to do' side of the board.
How big should a backlog be?
Small enough to scan, big enough to matter. A backlog with hundreds of stale items hides the ten that matter. When it stops being scannable, it stops being useful.
Nimbus
In Nimbus, the backlog lives on the board itself — every issue is one search away, and full-text search plus labels keep even a large backlog scannable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a backlog and a to-do list?
A to-do list is personal; a backlog is the shared, prioritized work of a team. Backlogs also carry metadata — estimates, owners, labels — that a to-do list does not.
Who owns the backlog?
In scrum, the product owner. In a kanban team, ownership is usually shared, with a lead who keeps it prioritized. Someone has to say what is next, or everything is.
How do you keep a backlog healthy?
Groom it weekly, delete or archive stale items, split large ones, and keep the top of the list genuinely ready to start. A healthy backlog makes planning a five-minute job.
Ship your first sprint today.
Create a workspace and invite the team — the board is live the moment you open it.