Backlog refinement is an essential activity for Agile teams as it allows them to prioritize tasks, estimate effort, and ultimately improve the results of a project. I’ve personally witnessed the power of refinement to make development more efficient and increase team productivity.
In this post, I’ll discuss my experience and some tips you can use to become a backlog refinement expert and improve your team’s performance.
Understanding Backlog Refinement
Backlog refinement is an essential practice within Agile project management. It’s where we tidy up, organize, and prioritize tasks in our task list. Doing so helps teams operate more efficiently and produce better work.
The primary purpose of backlog refinement is to ensure everyone understands what needs to be done. We break down complex tasks into smaller tasks, making it easier to plan and execute work.
I’ve seen how regular refinement significantly improves a project. Teams are more aligned and have a better understanding of priorities, which in turn makes work operate more smoothly.
In Agile methodologies, backlog refinement is a common practice. However, it’s not the same thing as sprint planning. Refinement focuses on tidying up the overall backlog, while sprint planning focuses on planning immediate work.
You may also hear people refer to this process as “backlog grooming.” However, the term “grooming” was actually changed to refinement in the 2013 Scrum Guide, as the new term better reflects how the process is collaborative.
If you do backlog refinement effectively, you can achieve:
- Clearer project objectives
- Better estimations of work
- Improved team collaboration
- More successful sprints
When done well, backlog refinement is another play in the playbook of making sure the team is aligned and executing. You’ll notice your projects run more smoothly and your team is more aligned.
The Backlog Refinement Process
How frequently should you refine the backlog? I find that weekly sessions are most effective for most teams. You don’t want to do it too frequently, so aim to allocate about 5% of your team’s time to backlog refinement. Who should attend? I always invite:
- The product owner
- Key developers
- The Scrum Master (if practicing Scrum)
Occasionally, other relevant stakeholders
Here’s a documentation process that has worked well for me:
- Review the backlog
- Add any new items that may have come up
- Remove any outdated or irrelevant items
- Break down larger tasks into smaller tasks
- Estimate each task
- Prioritize the backlog based on effort and value
Breaking down larger tasks is most important. To help ensure each task is broken down well, I like to evaluate tasks using the INVEST framework:
- Independent: Can this task be worked on independently of the rest of the backlog?
- Negotiable: Is there any aspect of this task that can be negotiated or changed?
- Valuable: Does a stakeholder care about this being completed?
- Estimable: Can we size the task?
- Small: Is the task small enough to fit in the sprint?
- Testable: Do we know if the task is completed?
Remember that you will likely use 10% of the team’s sprint to refine the backlog. Don’t let it exceed that. It’s easiest to achieve balance in refinement when the sprints feel smooth.
One technique that has worked for me in breaking down tasks is the user story mapping method. This helps you visualize and chunk smaller deliverable tasks throughout the user journey.
The more you and your team practice, the better we will get at refining the backlog. And you’ll notice your sprints start to feel more predictable and productive. Sprint planning best practices can further enhance your team’s efficiency during this process.
Prioritizing Backlog Items
Prioritizing the backlog is essential because you always want to ensure you’re working on the highest impact tasks. I have a few methods I’ve learned over the years to make this process more effective.
First, assess the value of each item:
- How much value does completing this task add for our users?
- What is the potential ROI if we complete this?
- Does this task support our higher level strategy?
Then, assess urgency:
- Is this necessary to stay out of legal trouble?
- Is this blocking other work?
I like to use a simple 2×2 matrix:
- High Value High Urgency: Do these now.
- High Value Low Urgency: Schedule these.
- Low Value High Urgency: These are quick wins.
- Low Value Low Urgency: Delete these.
Getting stakeholders to help you prioritize is critical, as they have information you might not have. I have regular meetings set up with key stakeholders to prioritize and reprioritize.
Remember, priorities change, so plan to constantly re-prioritize. Just because something is a top priority today doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow.
Balancing urgent and important work is one of the hardest parts of the job. Urgent work will constantly fight for your attention, but make sure that you are also setting aside time for important, strategic work.
If you can prioritize effectively, you’ll keep your team focused on what’s most important. This will lead to better results and happier stakeholders.
Estimating Effort and Complexity
Estimating work is always difficult, yet it’s one of the most important activities in backlog refinement. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks that work well.
Story points are the most common solution. They are a relative measure of effort, complexity, and uncertainty. I use the Fibonacci sequence (1 2 3 5 8 13 21) for story points. It gives you a good range of options.
T-shirt sizing is another great option. It’s a simple, intuitive way to estimate. You classify tasks as XS, S, M, L, or XL. This is ideal for a quick high level estimate.
When you run estimation sessions, here’s what I do:
- Clearly explain the item.
- Allow for questions.
- Let the team members estimate independently.
- Discuss if there are any major outliers.
- Come to a consensus.
There’s always some level of uncertainty, and that’s okay. I encourage the team to call out what they truly don’t know, versus feeling pressure to make something up. This is also fine to provide a range versus a single estimate.
Re-estimation is sometimes necessary. As you learn more about a task, your estimate may change. That’s perfectly normal. Make sure you update your backlog accordingly.
Just remember, at the end of the day, it’s an estimate. It’s not a guarantee. Use it as a tool, but be ready for things to not always go according to plan.
With practice, your team will improve at estimating, leading to more accurate sprint planning and smoother project execution.
Improving Team Collaboration During Refinement
Effective collaboration during backlog refinement is essential. And I’ve found that fostering open communication yields better results.
Create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns. Let them know all input is valuable.
When conflicts inevitably arise, nip them in the bud. Here’s what I do when I sense tension in the room:
- Acknowledge there’s a disagreement.
- Let each side explain their perspective.
- Remind everyone to focus on facts, not emotions.
- Look for any commonalities in each person’s argument.
- Work as a team to find a solution that satisfies everyone.
To ensure everyone speaks up, use round robin approaches. This means everyone takes turns sharing ideas. I especially use this technique for team members who typically don’t talk much.
Building consensus is the primary goal. One way I ensure we reach consensus is through dot voting. Each person has a certain number of “dots” they can distribute to the product backlog items. It’s a quick way to see which items the team feels are most important.
Finally, just remember that collaboration doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. Instead, the goal is to combine everyone’s different opinions to make a better decision.
By improving collaboration, you’ll notice your refinement sessions are much more productive. And your backlog will be a reflection of the collective wisdom of the team. Understanding scrum roles can greatly enhance team collaboration during refinement sessions.
Tools and Technologies for Backlog Refinement
The right software can dramatically streamline backlog refinement. I’ve personally used various software solutions over the years, each of which has its own strengths.
Popular backlog management tools include:
- Jira
- Trello
- Azure DevOps
- Asana
- Monday.com
When selecting a tool, look for these core features:
- Easy to create and edit items
- Flexible prioritization options
- Estimation features
- Collaboration functionality
- Integration with other project management tools
Integration is key. Your refinement software should integrate with your existing systems so you don’t have to manually input data from one system to another.
To maximize each tool:
- Create a structure within the tool that clearly outlines your backlog.
- Use tags or labels so you can easily filter.
- Regularly update an item’s status and priority.
- Leverage the built-in collaboration functions.
Keep in mind that tools should enable your process, not the other way around. Select software that empowers your team’s unique process.
Using the right software will transform your refinement sessions into something far more productive. You’ll focus less on administrative tasks and more on productive conversations with your team.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Even advanced teams can still make mistakes during backlog refinement. I’ve certainly seen (and made) plenty of mistakes over the years. Here are some of the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Over-refinement is a very serious concern. It’s very tempting to try to make everything perfect. However, this will only result in wasted time and analysis paralysis. Remember that refinement should take a maximum of 10% of your team’s capacity.
Under-refinement is another problem. When teams get busy, refinement is often the first thing to go. This results in a messy backlog and chaotic sprints. Schedule regular time for this and stick to it.
Not getting stakeholders involved often leads to misaligned priorities. Make sure you’re bringing in key stakeholders on a regular basis. Their input is essential to ensuring business value remains high.
Failing to update estimates and priorities is a common issue. Remember, the backlog is not a static document. It should change as you learn more. Build a habit of updating estimates and priorities as part of your refinement process.
To avoid these mistakes:
- Set a strict time box limit for refinement
- Make sure you schedule time for this regularly
- Bring stakeholders in
- Review and update it
By simply being aware of these issues, you can solve for an effective refinement process— and in turn, a healthy backlog and successful sprints.
Measuring the Success of Backlog Refinement
How do you determine if your backlog refinement is working? I’ve discovered that tracking specific key performance indicators (KPIs) can reveal helpful insights.
Some of the most helpful KPIs are:
- Sprint predictability (planned vs. actual)
- Number of scope changes within a sprint
Trends in team velocity - Stakeholder satisfaction scores
Track improvements in sprint planning and execution. Look for things like:
Less last minute changes to the sprint backlog
- More accurate sprint forecasts
- Smoother sprint execution
Collecting feedback from the team is essential. Your regular retrospectives will help you uncover key insights. Ask questions like:
- Do you feel ready when you enter sprint planning?
Are the backlog items clear and well defined? - Is the prioritization process effective?
Remember, you should always be making improvements. Use the data and feedback you’ve collected to refine your backlog refinement. Making small adjustments is a great way to refine your process.
The Team Backlog should contain roughly three to five iterations of work. If that’s not the case, you might need to tweak your backlog refinement.
By measuring and improving your backlog refinement, you’ll make your entire project lifecycle more efficient. The team will execute more effectively and produce better results. One key aspect of this process is understanding the product increment and how it fits into your overall agile strategy.
In Summary
Backlog refinement is an important step in Agile methodologies. It improves project efficiency and team collaboration. Regular refinement sessions allow you to prioritize tasks, estimate effort, and complexity. Teams should avoid the pitfall of over-refining as well as neglecting stakeholder feedback. Using management tools effectively can make this process more efficient. You can measure success by improved sprint planning and execution. Just remember that refinement is a continuous process, so continue to refine and adjust it.
