Why Backlog Refinement?
Backlog Refinement is a critical part of good practice in Scrum. Refining the Product Backlog ensures that the Scrum Team has sufficiently defined Product Backlog Items so that Sprint Planning runs more smoothly and the Sprint proceeds with few surprises. Importantly, refinement isn’t an event or once off meeting. Product Backlog refinement is an ongoing activity.
Empiricism
Backlog Refinement doesn’t serve empiricism directly, but makes the Product Backlog (one of the three artefacts in Scrum) more transparent in terms of:
- What work is needed for an item to meet the Definition of Done in a single Sprint?
- The items that are most valuable to the Product Goal.
- What will it take in terms of effort to make steps toward the Product Goal next Sprint.
Scrum Teams often hold several refinement sessions throughout their Sprint. Typically, the more time that he team spends refining items, the better prepared everyone is for the next Sprint. The Scrum Team decides how and when refinement is done.
A good rule of thumb is for refinement to consume no more than about 10% of the capacity of the Scrum Team [1].
Who attends?
Scrum Teams do refinement both collectively and as individuals. Sometimes, they will hold a workshop and other times people will run experiments and do research by themselves and bring back the results to the team in a subsequent session.
Stakeholders and technical subject matter experts are important collaborators and advisors for refinement activities.
What about stakeholders?
Refinement works best when these sessions are kept focused and lean. The core participants should be the agile team – Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers. While it might be tempting to include stakeholders, their presence often leads to detailed solution discussions that derail the session’s primary purpose: preparation for upcoming Sprints.
A skilled Product Owner should effectively represent stakeholder needs, maintaining the meeting’s efficiency and focus. The exception is when specific stakeholder expertise is crucial for clarification – in these cases, invite them only for the relevant portion of the discussion.
By keeping the refinement team-centred and bringing in stakeholders selectively, teams can maintain their agility and make better use of everyone’s time. This approach ensures refinement stays true to its purpose: getting items ready for upcoming sprints.
What does Backlog Refinement involve?
- Breaking down Product Backlog items into smaller, more precise items.
- Further defining the scope boundaries and adding acceptance criteria.
- Adding details, such as a description, order, and size.
- Product discovery, including user research, to understand existing and future product needs.
Download the Backlog Refinement Checklist
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Footnotes
1. As per Scrum Guide, versions 2017 and earlier.
