Backlog refinement is an integral part of Agile software development. A product backlog is a prioritised list of features, enhancements, and bug fixes that are required to develop and implement your software.
Backlog refinement involves reviewing, ranking, and editing the product backlog to make sure that it reflects lessons learned, customer insights, and business value. The aim of this is to ensure that there is enough Product Backlog Items (PBIs) that meet the Definition of Ready. At Koderly our Definition of Ready follows the commonly used “SUPER” acronym.
Small enough
Understood well enough (From a business and technical perspective)
Prioritised
Estimated
Refined Acceptance Criteria
All of these requirements are critical to ensure a PBI is ready. If a PBI has met all of the requirements, then it is likely to be a success if it is added to a sprint.
Here’s how you can make sure that your PBIs are ready by completing backlog refinement.
1. Ensure that items are small enough
Backlog items should be broken down into manageable tasks that are small enough to be completed within a single sprint (typically a few days of work). Smaller items facilitate better estimation, collaboration, and tracking progress. The adherence to small, focused items helps the team to align with their definition of done.
For example, if you’re developing a booking screen for a travel reservation system, your product backlog may include a PBI to “confirm a booking”. However, this item has a wide scope that needs to be broken down into smaller items, as it’s unlikely to be completed in the sprint. Broken down, the items in the product backlog would be shown as:
- Collect client details.
- Send a booking confirmation.
- Process the payment and set the status to “Confirmed”.
2. Items should be understood well enough (from a business and technical perspective)
You should make sure that there is a clear understanding of requirements by the team, both in terms of the business requirement and the technical approach. Working with stakeholders to understand the requirements is critical to ensure that value is added, so you should make sure you spend enough time discussing the requirement as part of the backlog refinement discussions.
3. Items are prioritised
It’s helpful to understand the relative priorities in the backlog. This can be done by arranging items based on importance and business value. Higher priority PBIs are usually clearer and more detailed than those that are a lower priority, as they are likely to be closer to being sprint-ready.
4. Make sure that each item includes an estimate
It’s the tricky question that comes up in a project: “How long is this going to take?”. Estimating gives clarity on whether your team have the capacity to pick up an item, and can be used to reflect on the amount of effort needed for the work to complete. As part of the Backlog refinement process, the team should estimate effort required for each item. This can be done using a range of techniques such as Story Points, T-Shirt sizing, or Affinity Grouping.
5. Write clear and refined Acceptance Criteria
Teams should ensure that they have defined Acceptance Criteria for the successful delivery of an item. Creating the acceptance criteria should involve everyone in the team in some part, and sometimes stakeholders too. A good Acceptance Criteria serves as the basis for the tests that the work should pass, helps developers understand the items, and promotes a shared understanding of the requirements.
Conclusion
Although backlog refinement often takes the form of a regular meeting, it is an ongoing process and should be contributed to by the entire team throughout a sprint. The Scrum Guide estimates that backlog refinement should take no more than 10% of the capacity of the development team, Make sure that the whole team is included to promote transparency and help make sure project delivery success!
In conclusion, backlog refinement allows teams to run successful projects by only working on items that are ready to be developed. By using techniques such as establishing the Definition of Ready, you can make sure that all elements of Backlog refinement have been completed before an item is considered in sprint planning. Finally, make sure that you involve the whole team to make sure your project will be a success by promoting a shared understanding of each item.
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