The backlog contains hundreds of stale items. How do we clean it?
Unmaintained product optionsReview backlog items against the current product goal and evidence of need. Remove or archive obsolete options and clarify only the work likely to matter soon.
What to do now
- Identify current goals and constraints
- Remove duplicates and obsolete requests
- Reorder valuable remaining options
- Refine near-term work proportionately
When to escalate
Escalate when
The backlog obscures a mandatory or high-value requirement.
Who decides
The relevant Scrum accountability or delivery owner
Example
An old enhancement is archived because the underlying workflow has been replaced.
Mistake to avoid
Treating every historical request as a permanent promise.
Prevent a repeat
Inspect useful outcomes and feedback; apply Scrum-specific rules only when the team is actually using Scrum.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Documents
- Resources
Represent agreed work and evidence with enabled task features; do not imply native Scrum automation or certified Scrum compliance. See the platform
Related cases
- We have no clear product goal. What should guide the backlog?Directionless backlog ordering
- Our work items are too large to finish in an iteration. How should we split them?Oversized delivery batches
- The issue log contains duplicates. How should we clean it up?Fragmented issue history
- A shared environment is unavailable during our test window. What are the options?Environment capacity conflict