Bad Backlog Habits That Slow You Down
A messy backlog doesn’t just waste time—it kills focus. Instead of helping teams ship the right work, it turns into a graveyard of forgotten tickets.
And the worst part? You control it. The good news is that means you can fix it.
Here are four habits to break now, so your backlog actually works for you:
🚫 Stop dumping every idea into the backlog
🔍 Red flags:
100+ tickets, most with little or no detail
Old requests that nobody remembers adding
Every suggestion from every meeting gets logged
✅ What to do instead:
Keep a separate doc for raw ideas before adding them to the backlog
Say no to tickets that aren’t serious candidates for real work
Only log bugs that are confirmed to be worth fixing
🗑 Stop hoarding things that will never happen
🔍 Red flags:
A pile of tickets older than 9 months with zero progress
Features that no longer fit your strategy but still sit there collecting dust
✅ What to do instead:
Create a “kill list”—a place where outdated ideas go (with a short note on why)
Set a time rule: If nothing happens in 9 months, delete or archive unless someone fights for it
If nobody can explain why a ticket still matters, it’s gone
❌ Stop allowing tickets with no impact
🔍 Red flags:
Vague titles like “Improve onboarding” with no details
No connection to goals, user problems, or actual impact
✅ What to do instead:
Every ticket must answer: What problem does this solve? What will change?
Reject or rework anything that lacks a clear reason to exist
Teach stakeholders what a strong request looks like so they bring better input
⏳ Stop treating backlog refinement as an afterthought
🔍 Red flags:
Backlog reviews only happen before planning sessions
Engineers get unclear tickets, leading to wasted effort
The backlog feels overwhelming instead of useful
✅ What to do instead:
Make backlog cleanups a weekly habit—small, frequent updates prevent chaos
Close low-priority tickets instead of letting them linger forever
Regularly sort by priority so important work stays at the top
Do you have any ideas you would like to share? Get in touch on LinkedIn 👇
This post is sponsored by cs2investments.com
The ultimate dashboard for tracking, analyzing and managing counter strike skins portfolio - coming soon.
