Release Backlog

A release backlog should contain all of the possible work items that could be committed to by the team for work in a sprint. Work items are added to the release backlog from the product backlog. Work items in a release backlog should be discussed with team members during release planning meetings. Work items should be estimated, broken down into smaller work items, become more detailed, and so on, before the beginning of the next sprint.

Work items can be moved between the product and release backlogs as needed, such as when business priorities change or when opportunities to create better business value arise. Work items in a release backlog can be added, edited, and removed; however, any work item in a release backlog should have a high priority and a high business value. In general, only well-defined stories should be moved into a sprint backlog from a release backlog.