Understanding the DEEP Framework for Effective Product Backlog Management

The Product Backlog is a critical component of Agile product development. It is a living document that lists all features, functions, requirements, enhancements, and fixes that need to be developed for the product release. Effective Product Backlog Management is essential to ensure that the product meets the needs of its users and stakeholders. The DEEP framework is a set of guidelines that can help teams manage the Product Backlog effectively.

What is a DEEP Framework

DEEP stands for Detailed Appropriately, Estimated, Emergent, and Prioritized. Each item in the Product Backlog should be detailed appropriately, estimated in story points, emergent, and prioritized based on several factors such as user value, business value, technical feasibility, complexity, and dependencies. By following the DEEP framework, teams can manage the Product Backlog effectively, ensuring that the items in the backlog are appropriately detailed, estimated, emergent, and prioritized.

Here’s a brief overview of each element of the DEEP framework:

1. Detailed Appropriately: Each item in the Product Backlog should be detailed appropriately, so the team has a clear understanding of what needs to be developed. The level of detail should be just enough to provide clarity and direction to the development team.
2. Estimated: Each item in the Product Backlog should be estimated in story points to understand the level of effort required for development. Story points are used to estimate the amount of work needed to complete the item.
3. Emergent: The Product Backlog is a living document that is continuously updated as the team gains more understanding of the product requirements. Items can be added, removed, or updated based on changes in the product requirements.
4. Prioritized: The Product Backlog should be prioritized based on several factors, such as user value, business value, technical feasibility, complexity, and dependencies. Prioritization helps the development team focus on the most important items first.

By following the DEEP framework, teams can manage the Product Backlog effectively, ensuring that the items in the backlog are appropriately detailed, estimated, emergent, and prioritized. This helps the team to develop a comprehensive and prioritized Product Backlog that reflects the current understanding of the product requirements.

Example – MIS

Problem Description

ABC Corporation is a retail company that has been in business for over 20 years. Over the years, the company has grown significantly, and they now have multiple locations and a large customer base. To keep up with the competition, ABC Corporation has invested in an IT system that helps them manage their inventory, sales, and customer data.

However, in recent months, the IT system has been causing problems. The system is slow, and it takes a long time to process transactions. This has resulted in long checkout lines, frustrated customers, and lost sales. Additionally, the system is prone to errors, resulting in incorrect inventory data, which has led to stockouts and overstocking.

The IT team has been working to fix the issues, but they are struggling to identify the root cause of the problems. The system is complex, and there are many different components that need to work together seamlessly. The IT team has tried to optimize the system by adding more memory, upgrading the software, and increasing processing power. However, these measures have not solved the underlying problems.

The issues with the IT system are causing significant disruptions to the business. The company is losing customers, and their reputation is suffering. The IT team is under pressure to find a solution quickly, but they are struggling to identify the root cause of the problems. The company’s management team is concerned about the impact on the business’s bottom line and is considering bringing in external consultants to help solve the issues with the IT system.

Develop the Initial Product Backlog

Steps to develop the initial product backlog:

1. Identify the main problem areas: Based on the scenario provided, the main problem areas are the slow and error-prone IT system, resulting in long checkout lines, frustrated customers, incorrect inventory data, stockouts, and overstocking.
2. Identify the stakeholders: The stakeholders in this scenario are the company’s management team, IT team, retail employees, and customers.
3. Brainstorm potential solutions: Work with the stakeholders to identify potential solutions to the problems. Some potential solutions could include upgrading the hardware, optimizing the software, improving the network infrastructure, implementing a new POS system, and improving training for retail employees.
4. Prioritize the solutions: Prioritize the potential solutions based on their impact on the business, feasibility, and cost. Consider input from stakeholders and conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each solution.
5. Break down the solutions into smaller tasks: Once the solutions are prioritized, break them down into smaller tasks or user stories. Each task should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
6. Estimate the effort required for each task: Estimate the effort required for each task in story points. Use historical data or expert judgement to estimate the level of effort required.
7. Prioritize the tasks: Prioritize the tasks based on their impact on the business and the dependencies between tasks.
8. Create the initial product backlog: Create the initial product backlog by listing all the tasks in priority order. Include a description of each task and its estimated effort in story points.

Table format for the initial product backlog:

Priority	User Story	Description	Estimated Effort (Story Points)
1	Upgrade Hardware	Upgrading the hardware to improve system performance	13
2	Optimize Software	Optimizing the software to improve system performance	8
3	Improve Network Infrastructure	Improving the network infrastructure to reduce latency and improve system performance	5
4	Implement New POS System	Implementing a new POS system to improve transaction processing speed and reduce errors	21
5	Retail Employee Training	Improving training for retail employees to reduce errors and improve customer service	8
6	Improve Inventory Management	Improving inventory management to reduce stockouts and overstocking	13

Note: The story points are estimated and may need to be refined during backlog refinement and sprint planning sessions.

Refine the Product Backlog Items

Some of the product backlog items listed above may be too big to be put into a single sprint. Here are some options for refining them into appropriate epics or user stories:

1. Upgrade Hardware: This could be broken down into several smaller user stories such as “Research and select appropriate hardware,” “Purchase and install new hardware,” and “Test and verify new hardware.”
2. Optimize Software: This could be broken down into several smaller user stories such as “Identify performance bottlenecks,” “Develop and implement performance optimizations,” and “Test and verify performance improvements.”
3. Implement New POS System: This could be an epic that includes several user stories such as “Research and select appropriate POS system,” “Configure and customize the POS system,” “Train retail employees on the new POS system,” and “Test and verify the new POS system.”
4. Retail Employee Training: This could be broken down into several smaller user stories such as “Develop training materials,” “Schedule and conduct training sessions,” and “Evaluate training effectiveness.”

By breaking down these larger product backlog items into smaller, more manageable user stories, the team can more easily estimate effort, prioritize and plan sprints, and focus on delivering value to the business and its stakeholders.

Here is an updated table with the refined product backlog items (or user stories):

Priority	Epic/User Story	Description	Estimated Effort (Story Points)
1	Upgrade Hardware	Research and select appropriate hardware	5
		Purchase and install new hardware	5
		Test and verify new hardware	3
2	Optimize Software	Identify performance bottlenecks	3
		Develop and implement performance optimizations	5
		Test and verify performance improvements	2
3	Improve Network Infrastructure	Improve network infrastructure to reduce latency and improve system performance	5
4	Implement New POS System	Research and select appropriate POS system	5
		Configure and customize the POS system	8
		Train retail employees on the new POS system	5
		Test and verify the new POS system	3
5	Retail Employee Training	Develop training materials	3
		Schedule and conduct training sessions	3
		Evaluate training effectiveness	2
6	Improve Inventory Management	Improve inventory management to reduce stockouts and overstocking	8

Note: The story points are estimated and may need to be refined during backlog refinement and sprint planning sessions.

Evaluation of the Updated Product Backlog against the DEEP Principles

Here is a discussion of each user story in the updated product backlog against the DEEP principles:

1. Upgrade Hardware

• Detailed Appropriately: The user story is specific and well-defined, indicating that the team needs to research and select appropriate hardware, purchase and install new hardware, and test and verify the new hardware.
• Estimated: The user story is estimated in story points, allowing the team to understand the level of effort required to complete the work.
• Emergent: The user story is emergent, as the team may need to adjust the hardware selection or installation process based on their findings during the research and testing phases.
• Prioritized: The user story is prioritized based on its impact on the system performance, with upgrading the hardware being given the highest priority.

2. Optimize Software

• Detailed Appropriately: The user story is specific and well-defined, indicating that the team needs to identify performance bottlenecks, develop and implement performance optimizations, and test and verify performance improvements.
• Estimated: The user story is estimated in story points, allowing the team to understand the level of effort required to complete the work.
• Emergent: The user story is emergent, as the team may need to adjust the optimization approach based on their findings during the testing phase.
• Prioritized: The user story is prioritized based on its impact on the system performance, with optimizing the software being given the second-highest priority.

3. Improve Network Infrastructure

• Detailed Appropriately: The user story is specific and well-defined, indicating that the team needs to improve the network infrastructure to reduce latency and improve system performance.
• Estimated: The user story is estimated in story points, allowing the team to understand the level of effort required to complete the work.
• Emergent: The user story is not as emergent as some of the other user stories, as the team likely has a good understanding of the required network improvements.
• Prioritized: The user story is prioritized based on its impact on the system performance, with improving the network infrastructure being given a medium priority.

4. Implement New POS System

• Detailed Appropriately: The user story is specific and well-defined, indicating that the team needs to research and select appropriate POS system, configure and customize the POS system, train retail employees on the new POS system, and test and verify the new POS system.
• Estimated: The user story is estimated in story points, allowing the team to understand the level of effort required to complete the work.
• Emergent: The user story is emergent, as the team may need to adjust the selection or configuration approach based on their findings during the testing phase.
• Prioritized: The user story is prioritized based on its impact on the system performance, with implementing the new POS system being given a high priority.

5. Retail Employee Training

• Detailed Appropriately: The user story is specific and well-defined, indicating that the team needs to develop training materials, schedule and conduct training sessions, and evaluate training effectiveness.
• Estimated: The user story is estimated in story points, allowing the team to understand the level of effort required to complete the work.
• Emergent: The user story is not as emergent as some of the other user stories, as the team likely has a good understanding of the required training materials and sessions.
• Prioritized: The user story is prioritized based on its impact on reducing errors and improving customer service, with retail employee training being given a medium priority.

6. Improve Inventory Management

• Detailed Appropriately: The user story is specific and well-defined, indicating that the team needs to improve inventory management to reduce stockouts and overstocking.
• Estimated: The user story is estimated in story points, allowing the team to understand the level of effort required to complete the work.
• Emergent: The user story is not as emergent as some of the other user stories, as the team likely has a good understanding of the required improvements to inventory management.
• Prioritized: The user story is prioritized based on its impact on reducing stockouts and overstocking, with improving inventory management being given a medium priority.

Overall, the updated product backlog aligns well with the DEEP principles. Each user story is appropriately detailed, estimated, emergent, and prioritized, allowing the team to effectively manage the product backlog and deliver value to the business and its stakeholders. The prioritization of user stories is based on their impact on the system performance, reducing errors, and improving customer service, which supports the overall goals of the project.

Improving the Product Backlog

While the updated product backlog appears to align well with the DEEP principles, there is always room for improvement. Here are some potential areas for improvement:

1. Detailed Appropriately: The user stories in the product backlog could be further refined to ensure that they are appropriately detailed. This may involve breaking down larger user stories into smaller ones or providing more context and clarity around the requirements.
2. Estimated: The story points assigned to each user story could be refined based on actual data from previous sprints or the team’s evolving understanding of the requirements.
3. Emergent: The product backlog could be continuously reviewed and refined to ensure that it remains emergent. The team could incorporate feedback from stakeholders or adjust the backlog based on new information that emerges during development.
4. Prioritized: The prioritization of user stories could be refined based on changing business needs or feedback from stakeholders. The team could conduct regular reviews of the backlog to ensure that the highest-priority user stories are being addressed first.

Overall, the product backlog is a living document that should be continuously reviewed and refined to ensure that it aligns with the DEEP principles and supports the goals of the project. The team should be open to feedback and actively seek ways to improve the product backlog throughout the development process.

Summary

The DEEP framework is crucial for effective Product Backlog Management as it helps teams to develop a comprehensive and prioritized Product Backlog that reflects the current understanding of the product requirements. The level of detail should be just enough to provide clarity and direction to the development team. Story points are used to estimate the amount of work needed to complete the item, and the Product Backlog is continuously updated based on changes in the product requirements. Prioritization helps the development team focus on the most important items first.

The DEEP framework provides a set of guidelines for effective Product Backlog Management. It ensures that the Product Backlog is appropriately detailed, estimated, emergent, and prioritized based on several factors such as user value, business value, technical feasibility, complexity, and dependencies. By following the DEEP framework, teams can manage the Product Backlog effectively, ensuring that the product meets the needs of its users and stakeholders.