Backlog
A backlog is a list of ideas or solutions that product teams rank and prioritize to decide what to build when.
What's the problem with backlogs in product discovery?
Product managers spend time "grooming" these backlogs—refining, prioritizing, and organizing the items. This often involves using spreadsheets and made-up formulas to rank ideas based on factors like business value, user value, and technical difficulty.
However, this practice represents an output-focused approach that misses the point. Backlogs focus on prioritizing solutions rather than opportunities. They embody the mindset that teams are "one or two or three features away from a better product"—the fallacy of the feature factory or what Melissa Perri calls "The Build Trap."
When product managers spend their days grooming backlogs, prioritizing bugs, and managing delivery ceremonies, they have less time for discovery activities like talking with customers, understanding needs, and uncovering opportunities.
Teams practicing continuous discovery shift from managing backlogs of solutions to managing opportunity solution trees that map the problem space and connect opportunities to outcomes.
Learn more:
- Prioritize Opportunities, Not Solutions
- Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes
Related terms:
- Opportunity Solution Tree
- Outcomes
- Feature Factory
- Assessing Opportunities
Last Updated: October 25, 2025