Agile software development introduced the backlog as a beautiful, powerful, and delightfully simple tool for managing variability and uncertainty in modern organizations. Unfortunately,  the backlog can also be a major impediment to flow and break the value stream with substantial economic loss. This happens because our traditional model of backlog management presents the backlog as a stack of plates reservoir for the development team. Agile grew up, and now so does our model of the backlog. Based on the recently launched book “The Rock Crusher” (available from Amazon or the IIBA) this session introduces a flow-based model for backlog management. We explore how some organisations are managing their backlogs well, yet others struggle, show how turbulence is necessary for innovation, introduce the waste gate as a way to help focus on doing the right work and show how using a rock crusher helps maximise the value generated for our customers and stakeholders.

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No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of Software
Engineering. Computer
FP Brooks Jr - IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, 1987
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The backlog “embraces change” by
enabling:
● additions,
● removal,
● reprioritization, and, most
importantly,
● visualization of all the potential
work for a product
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Mountain Range, still a rock but a
Really, really big Rock
(maybe a multi-year initiative)
A Mountain, still a rock but a really
big Rock (maybe a 6 month to year
initiative)
A boulder, just a big Rock
(maybe a quarter to 6 month initiative)
Rocks a few weeks to 6 months Ready Rocks
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Crush Ratio = ThinPipe / WhatGoesIn
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While a Solution could be a “project”, the
Rock Crusher encourages a “product”
focus.
In project-oriented management, there is no incentive to
reduce technical debt; its effects do not materialize until
after the project ends. This results in application portfolios
that are dead ends for the companies that created them
and the constant accumulation of more legacy systems
and code….
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Common problem when a team is “project” oriented
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Tactical Refinement Meeting
Initiative / Program
Refinement Meeting
Strategy / Portfolio
Refinement Meeting
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The refinement meeting is when the Team meets to stabilize and throttle the Flow and ensure the Team is
not starved and has a smooth flow of Valuable Rocks. Backlog Refinement is a process of learning and
discovery.
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Rock Crusher Canvas V0.9 Rock Crusher Name Date Version
How to Build A Rock Crusher
1. Form a Rock Crusher Hypothesis. (What problem are
you trying to solve through adoption of the Rock
Crusher approach?)
2. Choose a value stream. (Where will the Rock Crusher
reside?)
3. Identify your village. (Who will play the various Rock
Crusher roles?)
4. Visualize your Rock Crusher. (How will you visualize
the rocks flowing through the Rock Crusher?)
5. Establish your intake policies. (Where are the front and
back doors into the Rock Crusher?)
6. Establish your Waste Gate policy. (What are your
policies for disposing of or managing the rocks ejected
through the waste gate?)
7. Schedule the ceremonies. (What is the cadence and
attendance list for the various Rock Crusher
ceremonies?)
8. Continuously improve your Rock Crusher. (How will
you apply continuous improvement concepts to the
Rock Crusher you are implementing?)
Rock Crusher Hypothesis
● Why?
● What is the value of doing this?
● What problem are we solving?
● Why do we think this is the solution to this problem?
Rock Crusher Metrics
What will we measure to know if it’s working?
Value Stream
Which Value Stream is the Rock Crusher associated with?
Which Steps?
Which Solutions?
The Village
Backlog Owner Solution Owner(s) Analyst(s) Stakeholder(s) & Customer(s) SME(s)
Teams
Horizons
How turbulent is your flow, and
how many horizons would you need
to throttle and stabilize your flow?
Intake Policy Waste Gate Policy
How and when will we accept rocks?
How responsive must we be to our stakeholders?
How will injections change our commitment?
What is our backdoor policy?
What are the Rock Crusher WIP limits?
Do rocks have a best-before date?
What happens to ejected rocks?
Ceremony Schedule
Will we have both a tactical and strategic backlog refinement
meeting?
Who needs to attend?
Who should attend?
How long? How often?
When should a Crusher be created?
Crusher Policy
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