Product Backlog Template With a Prioritized Example
By SayCraft Team · 2026-08-27 · 10 min read
A product backlog is an ordered, changing list of work tied to a Product Goal. It is not a permanent inbox or a promise to deliver every request. Record the user outcome, supporting evidence, priority rationale, approximate size, dependencies, acceptance evidence, owner, and current status only when those fields help the team decide. New facts can move, split, rewrite, or remove an item. The copyable CSV and worked client-portal example below show how one Product Goal guides ordering. These custom columns are practical choices, not fields required by Scrum.
Copyable backlog format
Item,User outcome,Evidence,Priority rationale,Size,Dependencies,Acceptance evidence,Owner,Status PB-01,,,,,,,, PB-02,,,,,,,,
Worked client-portal backlog
Product Goal: Invited clients can make and retrieve a decision on the current draft without email attachments.
| Order | Item and outcome | Evidence | Priority rationale | Size | Dependencies | Acceptance evidence | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invited client can access one project | Three pilot clients currently receive drafts by email | Without bounded access, no review workflow is usable | M | Identity and project permission model | Invited client enters one project; unrelated account cannot | Engineering | Ready |
| 2 | Client can approve the current draft | Approval is the Product Goal's core decision | Enables the first complete outcome | M | Bounded access and versioned draft | Decision records client and draft version once | Engineering | Ready after item 1 |
| 3 | Client can request changes with a comment | Pilots need a non-approval outcome | Completes the decision branch after approval works | S | Versioned draft and decision record | Comment persists and state changes | Engineering | Refine |
| 4 | Daily approval reminder | Only one pilot asked for reminders | Useful but not required to prove the core workflow | S | Notification channel and preference | Deferred pending evidence from more users | Product | Deferred |
Keep the list emergent
- Capture a request without promising delivery.
- Refine the user outcome, evidence, size, dependencies, and acceptance boundary.
- Order against the current Product Goal and risk.
- Split work only when each slice preserves usable value.
- Mark an item done only when its acceptance evidence exists; remove or rewrite it when evidence changes.
Scrum does not require the custom columns above. The official guide defines the backlog as emergent and ordered; your fields should serve that responsibility. Use user stories where they improve the conversation, ask requirements questions before promoting an unverified request, and trace accepted items to the software requirements specification.
Sources used for this guide
Turn the document into something testable
Select the first backlog item that creates a complete user outcome. Build and review that slice before importing the rest of the backlog.
Frequently asked questions
What is a product backlog?
In Scrum, the Product Backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product and carries the Product Goal as its commitment.
What fields belong in a product backlog?
Use only fields that help the current team order and deliver work. Outcome, evidence, priority rationale, size, dependencies, acceptance evidence, owner, and status are practical options, not Scrum-mandated fields.