The ART Backlog
The ART Backlog is a Kanban system that manages the work of the ART. Product Management is responsible for its management and maintenance. The ART Backlog contains both Features and Enablers.
The ART Backlog differs from the Team Backlog in that the items span across the entire ART and are worked on during the Planning Interval (PI). Alternatively, compared to the Portfolio Backlog, the ART Backlog is more granular. The Portfolio Backlog often contains work for several Development Value Streams and spans multiple PIs.
While Product Management has the primary responsibility of managing the ART Backlog, key contributors and collaborators include the System Architect, Business Owners, and Product Owners.
The work in the ART Backlog should come from the Portfolio Epics and Portfolio Enablers. It is split into Features and Enablers that the ART will be able to deliver in a PI or less:
Figure 8.1 – Example flow from Portfolio Backlog to ART Backlog (© Scaled Agile, Inc.)
If you’re implementing Essential SAFe®, there is no intentional need for the work to come from the Portfolio Backlog. Remember to only scale to the Portfolio, Solution, and Full configurations when necessary.
Ensuring that the ART Backlog is well maintained is one of the most critical items for the ART. Without a well-defined and refined backlog, the ART will struggle to deliver value and determine what they should be working on.
The ART Backlog is typically represented via a Kanban Board. In Figure 8.2 we have an example of how the Features flow through the system, including the usage of WIP limits and some example policies.
Figure 8.2 - Example ART Backlog in Kanban (© Scaled Agile, Inc.)
Product Management is responsible for ensuring the backlog is continuously prioritized and updated and shepherds the Features through the process in the same fashion as an Epic Owner at the portfolio level.
The ART Backlog is a critical tool for the ART. It visualizes the work that is in progress, as well as what is coming down the pipeline. We can see the different types of work (Features versus Enablers) and ensure that we have an appropriate Capacity Allocation to keep our ART running full steam ahead.
