Don't neglect the product backlog

I see lots of posts saying that Product Managers should not be backlog managers, Jira admins etc etc.

I think it's fair to say, this shouldn't be most or all of what PMs do.

But, while tidying the backlog or customising your project management tool might not be everyone's favourite task, it does need a bit of attention from time to time.

I've seen massive backlogs accumulate because people saw it as "not my job".

When it's everyone's job - it quickly becomes nobody's job.

You shouldn’t hire a backlog administrator. But the backlog should not be neglected.

Some top tips:
1. don't add tickets "just in case", add them if they achieve an outcome / add value in some way
2. prune the old, never updated tickets - such as minor bugs that happened once. Use logging tools to identify issues that are high impact or occur a lot - don't go hunting for the ticket deep in the backlog.
3. watch out for duplication, and tickets superseding others. It's fine if they do! But cull the old ones.
4. keep an eye on the backlog size. if you have too many tickets (you can decide what that number is) consider trimming down.
5. practise good refinement. Flesh out the tickets that matter, don't waste time endlessly discussing things that are low value.

Don't spend forever on it - but don't treat the backlog as a dumping ground. Try to keep it tidy!