The dangerous game of product backlog Tetris

Sometimes you shouldn’t play as a Tetris world champion would.

Andrew Quan
UX Collective

Illustration of a laptop with Tetris tiles falling right to left, on a laptop, with each piece representing a backlog item
The dangerous game of product backlog Tetris — Illustration by Andrew Quan

The product backlog is a list of the features, fixes, infrastructure changes or other activities that a team may deliver to achieve a specific outcome. It is known to be the single authoritative source for things that a team works on.

Managing a backlog is often compared to playing the game of Tetris, where work items are seen as incoming blocks that are often unpredictable. Product managers often feel compelled to treat backlog management as a game of Tetris, whether it be rotating certain pieces to achieve some desired outcome, or simply waiting for the right piece to come along to save the day.

However, I’d actually argue that treating a backlog like Tetris is an anti-pattern we should try to avoid. Provided below are 6 ways to manage a product backlog that are often incongruent with the desired way to play Tetris.

Tetris vs the Product Backlog

In Tetris, players complete lines by moving differently shaped pieces (tetrominoes), which descend onto the playing field. Completed lines disappear and grant the player points. The player can then proceed to fill the vacated spaces.

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Responses (1)

What are your thoughts?

Excellent read. I love this Tetris analogy. I am at a place where product owners already fit all your suggestions, but I can appreciate their work even more after reading your article. Thanks!