97 Things Every Scrum Practitioner Should Know

Chapter 42. Product Backlog Refinement Is an Important Team Activity

Anu Smalley

One of the most critical needs in Scrum is to have a well-refined Product Backlog. According to the Scrum Guide, Product Backlog refinement is “the act of adding detail, estimates, and order to items in the Product Backlog.”

There is often confusion as to what should happen during refinement and who should participate. Product Backlog refinement is a continuous activity involving the Product Owner and the Development Team to ensure an output of a set of Product Backlog Items (PBIs) ready for the upcoming Sprint, with the outcome being a common understanding of those PBIs.

An anti-pattern in Scrum is where a Product Owner attempts to refine the backlog without the team. The impact of this type of refinement is that Sprint Planning may get derailed or elongated since the team often needs to repeat refinement activities, or worse, the team starts the Sprint without a good understanding of the work needed, risking a Sprint ending in chaos. Refinement must absolutely be done with the Product Owner and the Development Team with the purpose of developing a common understanding of the PBIs across the entire team.

A simple mnemonic to help with remembering the activities needed is REFINE:

R–Review

Reviewing the Product Backlog is a collective activity resulting in prioritization and ranking. The ...