Scrum - Backlog Refinement
Let’s take a closer look at the Backlog Refinement ceremony inorder to better understand what happens, who’s involved, and what the expected outcomes are.
1. What’s a backlog refinement
Backlog refinement is an ongoing process where the scrum team reviews, updates, and prioritizes items in the product backlog to ensure they are ready for future sprints. Backlog refinement was previously called “backlog grooming”, but the name was changed because “grooming” became considered inappropriate and is no longer widely accepted in many organizations.
2. When does it occur?
Backlog refinement is not a single event, but rather an ongoing activity that happens regularly throughout the sprint (often as a weekly or mid-sprint session). It’s important to note that formal scrum ceremony but is recommended to prevent sprint planning from becoming overwhelming.
3. Who is involved?
The sprint retro is an internal meeting for the scrum team only.
- 👉 Product owner: ensures backlog aligns with business goals and provides clarity on priorities.
- 👉 Scrum master: facilitates the discussion, ensuring backlog items are well-defined.
- 👉 Developement team: assess feasibility, ask questions, and break down stories into smaller tasks.
4. How long is this meeting
The backlog refinement meeting is usually 1 hour on a weekly or mid-sprint basis, but it can be longer for bigger sprints.
5. What’s the expected outcome of this meeting
This meeting helps the team prepare for upcoming sprints. Here’re more details:
- ✅ Prioritized backlog: ensures the most valuable work is tackled first
- ✅ Well-defined user stories: stories are refined to meet the definition of ready (clear, testable, and estimable).
- ✅ Improved sprint planning: reduce uncertainty and speeds up sprint planning.
- ✅ Clear acceptance criteria: establish expectations for definition of done (requirments for a story is done).
- ✅ Task breakdown: split Large stories (epics) into smaller, manageable tasks that can be completed during the sprint