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Creating a backlog for a cat-sitter

If you know what you want and what are your limitations, you need a prioritized list within those constraints. In the SCRUM agile software development framework, we call this list a product backlog, and it is one of the most iconic SCRUM artifacts. My favorite definition for a product backlog is from Ken Schwaber: “Product Backlog: A prioritized list of project requirements with estimated times to turn them into completed product functionality. […] The list evolves, changing as business conditions or technology changes.”

Arrange the possible things in the descending order of importance. This is the first and most crucial step of creating a successful product backlog.

For our cat-sitter, the backlog's most important element should be to make sure that the cat has access to fresh, clean water at all times. Dehydration is definitely not an outcome we would want. A close second is making sure that the cat is well fed, but not overfed. If the cat survives, we need to make sure that she does so in good health. So, the cat-sitter should check whether the cat is sick or injured, then take it to a vet, if needed. The above three elements are strictly necessary for the survival of the cat. Among those, probably the health of the cat is the top priority. There is no time or point to feed the cat if it is about to die from some illness. Cleaning the litter box is the fourth element here, and those four elements are why we have the cat-sitter. There are many other things a good cat-sitter can and will do, for example, checking and cleaning the cat’s ears and teeth, and brushing its coat. Some cat-sitters may even give the cat a bath, or at least try and usually end up with some claw marks and bites, but that's another story. Keeping the cat clean and groomed is obviously important, not just for the looks, but for the health of the cat; but let's be honest, the cat will be just fine if a human doesn't groom her for a week. They spend lots of time cleaning themselves anyhow. Sleeping is also an important biological need, but I haven't seen any cat who needed help with that. However, there is another backlog item, which is a must, but is easy to forget. This is making sure that the cat is not lost and can't escape. (We assume it is an indoor cat in this mapping example.) If you think about it, this is the most important backlog item. If the cat-sitter loses the cat, all of our efforts will be pointless, as we will have no cat. Even a sick cat is a bit better than a non-existent one.

So, our backlog will have the following five items, starting with the highest priority:

As a cat-sitter, I want to make sure that the cat is not lost, and it can’t escape, so the cat will be safe
As a cat-sitter, I want to ensure that the cat is not sick or injured and if it is, I need to take it to the vet so that it will be healthy
As a cat-sitter, I want to provide fresh and clean water for the cat at all times, so it doesn't become dehydrated
As a cat-sitter, I want to give the cat enough food, without overfeeding it so that it will be well fed
As a cat-sitter, I want to clean the litter box so that the environment of the cat is clean and fresh

At the visualization phase, we don't assign time estimates to the backlog items, but later that will become important. What's important to note here is the backlog item template we have used. This is what Paul VII and other SCRUM gurus call the Three R format. In the next chapter, we will see a few other formats, but this one is the most popular.

When creating backlogs, you can use the Three R format, so each item will include the Role, the Requirement and the Reason. This can be templatized as: As a _____ [role -> persona], I want _____ [requirement -> output], so _____ [reason -> outcome].

The role is the user type. It's easy to understand why we want a map that works for any cat-sitter, not just one specific cat-sitter. We also don't want any miscellaneous passer-by to fit into it. We don't expect the janitor to take our cat to the vet, for example. In Chapter 3, Journey Map – Understand Your Users, we will create maps with multiple user groups, personas with different goals and abilities, but for now, we will focus only on the cat-sitter user group. The requirement explains what will happen. The requirements generate the outputs of the map, whereas the reasons are a subset of the positive outcomes. For example, the cat being sick would also be an outcome of the map, but certainly not a reason. As long as all reasons are aligned with our opportunity, we should be able to reach and end up with a well-fed, happy, and healthy cat when we come back. The preceding list was easy to create because we know what's more important for our opportunity. We could have written a list with 10 or 100 items, but probably we would have neither the resources nor the time for anything beyond the 5th.

Setting priorities right usually means the difference between success and failure for corporations. A famous example is from the summer of 2002. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google, were about to sell their company. Yahoo's then-chief executive Terry Semel refused to pay three billion dollars for it. At that time, search was clearly not important for Yahoo. Of course, it's easy to pass judgement on them in 2017, knowing that Verizon acquired Yahoo for less than five billion, while Google is worth about 500 billion dollars. The web was vastly different 15 years ago. Semel couldn't foresee how it would evolve. Continuing the story, in 2006, Yahoo had a different company in sight: Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg turned down a one billion offer, but some reports suggest that Facebook's board would have forced him to sell if the offer had been increased by only 10%. Yet again, Yahoo's CEO refused to increase the offer. Although Semel approached both Google and Facebook with an acquisition offer, both offers were too low. Money and other resources are allocated based on a priority list. For some corporations, investing in the future is not high on the priority list. History suggests that those companies, such as Yahoo, Kodak, or Blockbuster, perish within a decade. Even if you don't run a multi-billion dollar corporation, you should always think about the future, embrace change, and set your priorities accordingly.