Scrum Backlog and RTC
Hello, we are using within our Projects the agile project management method called Scrum.
As you provide within RTC a scrum process-template, we tried to migrate our existing projectmanagement to RTC.
Within this migration a couple of problems occurred or some cases can not be arranged with the idea of scrum.
In rtc a product backlog ist build as a iteration plan and inherits all of its attributes. But scrum doesent see it like that and therefore a backlog should be a completely different object.
A problem that occours within this matter is the following.
If i like to put a work item from my backlog to an iteration plan, i mark the item and use the plan for .iteration 1. functionallity. After doing this the selected work item disappears and can no longer be found in the backlog. The item should stay where it is in the backlog and a clone of this item should be build in the interation plan.
Is there a way to provide this feature? It is really needed if you work with scrum.
Thanks a lot
As you provide within RTC a scrum process-template, we tried to migrate our existing projectmanagement to RTC.
Within this migration a couple of problems occurred or some cases can not be arranged with the idea of scrum.
In rtc a product backlog ist build as a iteration plan and inherits all of its attributes. But scrum doesent see it like that and therefore a backlog should be a completely different object.
A problem that occours within this matter is the following.
If i like to put a work item from my backlog to an iteration plan, i mark the item and use the plan for .iteration 1. functionallity. After doing this the selected work item disappears and can no longer be found in the backlog. The item should stay where it is in the backlog and a clone of this item should be build in the interation plan.
Is there a way to provide this feature? It is really needed if you work with scrum.
Thanks a lot
9 answers
I'm not very familiar with Scrum, at what point would you expect the work item to disappear from the backlog? Maybe we can formulate a work item query satisfying your requirements. (You could then, e.g., drag work items from the query results in the Work Items view onto a plan.)
Christof
Jazz Work Item team
Christof
Jazz Work Item team
Hello Christof,
the work item should not disappear from backlog, it should stay there everytime. The real meaning of a product backlog is, that you find all work items there, at any time.
We realized a real scrum backlog with the help of tags. We tag the work items with "iteration1, iteration2" and so you can group and filter them, and they are still in the product backlog. But the problem is, that the Sprint Burndown Report does not work anymore etc.
Greetz Keagen85
the work item should not disappear from backlog, it should stay there everytime. The real meaning of a product backlog is, that you find all work items there, at any time.
We realized a real scrum backlog with the help of tags. We tag the work items with "iteration1, iteration2" and so you can group and filter them, and they are still in the product backlog. But the problem is, that the Sprint Burndown Report does not work anymore etc.
Greetz Keagen85
Hello, and thanks for the answer.
A work item should only disappear from the product backlog if i delete it. It should stay where it is at the backlog if i plan it for an iteration, if a work item is resolved etc. .
In scrum the product backlog is the root view for my items. All work items are collected in it and there they get set their estimated and priority values.
If i like to work out a item, i have to move it into a iteration but a copy of it still have to stay in the product backlog. Only in a iteration it can be resolved, proceeded and the elapsed time be changed.
In every state of the project i need the complete overview of my work items, and therefore they should not disapear, if they are planned for a iteration.
A work item should only disappear from the product backlog if i delete it. It should stay where it is at the backlog if i plan it for an iteration, if a work item is resolved etc. .
In scrum the product backlog is the root view for my items. All work items are collected in it and there they get set their estimated and priority values.
If i like to work out a item, i have to move it into a iteration but a copy of it still have to stay in the product backlog. Only in a iteration it can be resolved, proceeded and the elapsed time be changed.
In every state of the project i need the complete overview of my work items, and therefore they should not disapear, if they are planned for a iteration.
Hello RTC Team Members,
We had an idea of how a Scrum Backlog could be realized with RTC.
First step would be a product backlog as you have. There you create all work items, that means, Stories, Tasks etc. The usual next step would be planning the work items for an iteration (plan for sprint 1). But with this step you would destroy the Backlog in Scrum meaning. As I explained, Scrum needs a Product Backlog which contains all work items, no matter if they are planned or not.
Our plan to realize this: When you plan a work item for an iteration you move the original work item to the "sprint-Iteration-Plan" and at same time you create a "link-work-item" in the product backlog. This link-work-item is the same as it is created when you move a work item and it has a parent work item. It refers of course to the original work item.
This should be reversed when you put an item from "sprint-iteration-plan" back into backlog. This means: you move the original work item back into product backlog and remove the "link-work-item".
For your interest: My name is Christopher Zuendorf, I am from the IBM Research and Development Laboratory in Boeblingen,Germany. Scrum is very popular here in Boeblingen. That's why we search a tool for documentating the Scrum artifacts like Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog etc. RTC seems good for this purpose, but we think it still has to be modified to the special needs of Scrum projects. Especially the fact that work items disappear from backlog, when you plan them for iteration, is a big problem for us.
Please give me feedback about our ideas.
We had an idea of how a Scrum Backlog could be realized with RTC.
First step would be a product backlog as you have. There you create all work items, that means, Stories, Tasks etc. The usual next step would be planning the work items for an iteration (plan for sprint 1). But with this step you would destroy the Backlog in Scrum meaning. As I explained, Scrum needs a Product Backlog which contains all work items, no matter if they are planned or not.
Our plan to realize this: When you plan a work item for an iteration you move the original work item to the "sprint-Iteration-Plan" and at same time you create a "link-work-item" in the product backlog. This link-work-item is the same as it is created when you move a work item and it has a parent work item. It refers of course to the original work item.
This should be reversed when you put an item from "sprint-iteration-plan" back into backlog. This means: you move the original work item back into product backlog and remove the "link-work-item".
For your interest: My name is Christopher Zuendorf, I am from the IBM Research and Development Laboratory in Boeblingen,Germany. Scrum is very popular here in Boeblingen. That's why we search a tool for documentating the Scrum artifacts like Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog etc. RTC seems good for this purpose, but we think it still has to be modified to the special needs of Scrum projects. Especially the fact that work items disappear from backlog, when you plan them for iteration, is a big problem for us.
Please give me feedback about our ideas.
Great discussion, we are implementing these link work items as well, so our product backlog remains a full list of work that is not yet delivered to the field, while the actual work is being done across both maintenance and development product lines and multiple iterations. It is a very manual process though to create these link work items and assign them as child of the parents in our product backlog, especially working with a very large development team. Is this feature discussed to have RTC help with drag and drop capabilities still on plan for 1.1? I was unable to locate the enhancement number in RTC, can someone help me with that?
Great discussion, we are implementing these link work items as well, so our product backlog remains a full list of work that is not yet delivered to the field, while the actual work is being done across both maintenance and development product lines and multiple iterations.
Hi Mike,
What do you mean by "link work item"? Have you created a new work item type specifically for linking? Or do you just mean that if you have e.g. Story 537, you'd create another Story work item and call it something like "Link to Story 537" and add a parent/child link?
Thanks!
Robin