Build 36

Design Backlog

No matter how grand the project, there will always be things that require more time and resources than are available. Perhaps the design team wants to spend more time perfecting the transitions between states or to design and test different layouts with users. In the rush to produce a product or service, it’s easy to lose track of the things that don’t fit the schedule. The design backlog can be used to capture and prioritize these items, resulting in a shared list of actions that the design team will take on as time becomes available.

Depending on the working model, the design backlog can emerge at different points in a project. It might be used from the beginning of the refine phase as a means of organizing and prioritizing all of the work that needs to be done, or it might be created for use at the end of the first release, creating a series of ways to improve the product or service for subsequent versions.