Creating and managing the Sprint Backlog

The Sprint Backlog is simply a list of Product Backlog items that have been selected for the Sprint, along with the plan for delivering them and accomplishing the Sprint Goal. While the Product Owner is responsible for which items go in the Product Backlog, the developers are solely accountable for which items go into the Sprint Backlog. The Product Owner will make suggestions as to which items should go in the Sprint Backlog, but the developers will decide based on their estimation of the work needed for each item and their own capacity to deliver work within the Sprint. Often, if the Product Owner is very insistent on including certain items in the Sprint, the developers may exclude other items of equal size or complexity from the Sprint Backlog so that they can accommodate the high-priority item. Placing and removing items from the Sprint Backlog must always be driven by the Sprint Goal's imperative. Let's discuss how that happens...