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Scrum PBI

Scrum PBI is all about the items which form the product backlog. It is nothing but the functionality that is pending delivery to a product. In this blog let us understand all details related to PBI including what is included in it, who is the owner of it, how to use it effectively, and some of the examples.

All these can be practically learned from a scrum certification course with live examples. The scrum team needs to understand this very term to work effectively.

What is a Scrum PBI

The subset of a product increment is a PBI and it focuses on the product solution. A good PBI will lie in the solution space and not the product space. PBIs are ordered based on the value aspiration and cost.

In simple words, it is the task that must be completed during every sprint and it should be a small increment allowing the team to complete it in one sprint itself. There cannot be a backlog allowed on PBI therefore ensure to choose the ones that can be completed within the timebound sprint period.

What All Come Under Product Backlog Item

- The project specifications

- Requirement

- All the use case

- Epics

- Bugs

- User story

- Time bounded research works

Qualities of a Scrum PBI

- Every item must describe the goal of its presence in the project

- The product owner must be able to determine the business value

- The team must be able to estimate the effort that is required to be taken to shift the status of the item to DONE.

- The PBI must have a relative value so that the product owner can prioritize it

High-Level Product Backlog Item Example

Anything that contributes to the changes to be incorporated in the product is called the PBI and let us find some examples of high-level PBIs here.

- That which enhances the product scalability

- Which simplifies the product installation process?

- PBIs that let the user make use of the product in multiple OS and systems.

The above examples clearly explain that PBIs must be highly scalable and thus a PO must work towards making the PBI look clear. This will help the developer to streamline the focus and work upon.

Types of Scrum PBI with Example

In the section below you can find the different types of PBI with an example for better understanding.

1. Feature / Function PBI – Imagine as a CSR you want to create all customer issues to manage them one at a time.

2. Change enhancement – This will help you as a CSR to display your name in the ticket in the place of the number to help you quickly know the work assigned for you.

3. Defect PBI – This PBI is created to not lose any customer ticket if there is a special character found in their tickets.

You can find more examples in the image given below

Scrum PBI Types

Scrum PBI Vs User stories

There is always confusion between a user story and PBI which we will explain for a detailed understanding.

Scrum PBI	User Stories
It is a single element of work inside a product backlog.	It is a collection of elements which when put together can meet the end-user need
User story cannot be written in the form of PBI	PBI can be written in the form of user stories
PBIs can be a use case, bugs, epics, or user stories	A user story is an element that is a collection of a set of all elements working towards building the end product

Who Refines Scrum PBI and How

The product owner is responsible to refine the product backlog items. They need not create the backlogs but will help the team and SM to define the items to estimate them correctly. Therefore PO is the chief person who works on backlog refinement.

Step one is to create a big PBI based on the high-level requirement and then break them down into smaller items as user stories. Then these user stories are prioritized to allow them to do a particular sprint and help teamwork on it.

That is why we differentiated that PBI is not a user story but much more than that. User stories can be written by anyone but a PO is required to prioritize and refine PBI.

Product backlog consists of user stories, spikes, defects, and technical stories in short. It is the backbone of every scrum project

What is the Use of a Scrum PBI

- It helps the developer to choose the top priority work and get going. It gives clarity and hence speeds up the work process

- It will allow the team to feel glad that they are working in the right direction to meet the end goal of the customer.

- Further, it makes the team schedule as well as quantifies the separate elements and completes all during every sprint.

Enroll in a scrum master certification course to know more uses of PBI and how it differs from a user story.

Conclusion

If you love to know more about backlog and PBI, then you must sign up for a scrum certification course. It is not just meant for scrum masters. Every individual who has started to work on agile methodology must know about the practices and processes of the Scrum framework. Thus you should take part in the CSM certification course not only for a certificate but for detailed knowledge about the sprint, backlog, etc commonly referred to as work on projects without any hindrances.

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