Backlog Item
A backlog item is any single unit of work recorded in a product backlog, such as a user story, a bug fix, a technical task, a spike or an improvement. Scrum calls it a Product Backlog item (PBI). Each item describes something that would improve the product, and items are ordered so the team works on the most valuable ones first.
How Backlog Items Work
A backlog item can take several forms:
- User stories describe a capability from a user's point of view, as in a user story.
- Bugs describe something that does not work as intended.
- Technical tasks cover work users do not see directly, such as upgrading a library or improving a test suite.
- Spikes are time-boxed investigations that answer a question before building, as in a technical spike.
The Scrum Guide describes refinement as adding detail to items, such as a description, order and size. Items near the top of the product backlog are small and detailed enough to start. Items further down can stay as rough one-line ideas until they rise. Large items, often called epics, are split into smaller ones before a team commits to them.
Most teams also record acceptance criteria, an estimate, links to related items and the reason the item exists, such as the customer request or goal behind it.
Why Backlog Items Matter
A backlog item is the common unit for discussing, ordering and tracking work. Keeping each item to a single, clear outcome makes it easier to estimate, test and deliver within one sprint. Recording why an item exists also helps later: when someone asks why a feature was built, the item links back to the decision behind it.
Backlog Item Example
A team building a booking app has these items near the top of its backlog: a story letting customers reschedule an appointment, a bug where confirmation emails show the wrong time zone, a task to add database indexes for the calendar view, and a two-day spike to test a new payment provider's API. Each is a separate backlog item with its own acceptance criteria and estimate, even though they differ in type.