Scrum is a project management framework where teams maintain an organized product backlog through a continuous process known as backlog grooming, sometimes called backlog refinement. This activity ensures the team’s workflow remains smooth and that development efforts are always directed toward the most valuable tasks.
What is Backlog Grooming?
Backlog grooming is the ongoing activity of reviewing, updating, and organizing the product backlog. It is not a formal, one-time event within the Scrum framework but a process that ensures the backlog remains a reliable source of work. While the official Scrum Guide now uses the term “backlog refinement,” the terms are used interchangeably.
The product backlog is a prioritized and dynamic list of everything that might be needed in the final product. It includes new features, changes to existing features, bug fixes, and other activities. Backlog grooming is the act of tending to this list, ensuring that each item is relevant, well-understood, and ready for the team to work on in the future.
This process is a collaborative discussion where team members align on the work ahead. It involves adding details to items, breaking down large requests, and removing tasks that are no longer relevant. The primary focus is to prepare items for upcoming work cycles.
The Goal of Backlog Grooming
The goal of backlog grooming is to ensure the product backlog is populated with items that are relevant, detailed, and estimated to a degree that they are considered “Ready” for future sprints. A well-groomed backlog provides clarity and predictability. The health of a backlog is assessed using the “DEEP” criteria, an acronym that outlines the qualities of a refined backlog.
“DEEP” stands for:
- Detailed appropriately: Items at the top of the backlog have more detail than items lower down. High-priority items that are likely to be worked on soon need clear acceptance criteria, while lower-priority items can remain less defined.
- Estimated: The development team collaborates to determine how much work an item will require, which helps in forecasting and planning.
- Emergent: The backlog is never static. New items are added, existing ones are modified or removed, and priorities shift as the team learns more and receives feedback.
- Prioritized: The backlog is ordered, with the most valuable and urgent items placed at the top. This ordering guides the team on what to work on next.
The Backlog Grooming Process
The backlog grooming process is a collaborative effort involving key members of the Scrum team. The Product Owner leads these sessions, as they are responsible for the product backlog and maximizing the value of the product. The Development Team members are active participants, providing the technical analysis needed to clarify requirements and estimate the work. The Scrum Master facilitates the meeting, ensuring the discussion is productive.
The team reviews user stories, and the Product Owner answers questions to resolve any ambiguity. This ensures everyone has a shared understanding of what needs to be built and why it is valuable. It is also the time to break down large backlog items, often called “epics,” into smaller, more manageable user stories that can be completed within a single sprint.
Another activity is adding necessary details, such as acceptance criteria, which define the specific conditions a feature must meet to be considered complete. The team also estimates the effort required for these refined items, using story points to assign a relative value to the work. Finally, the Product Owner may re-order the backlog based on the insights gained during the session, ensuring the highest-priority items are ready for the next Sprint Planning meeting.
Key Advantages of Backlog Grooming
One of the most immediate benefits is more efficient and predictable Sprint Planning meetings. When the team enters planning with a backlog of well-understood and estimated items, they can spend less time debating details and more time crafting a realistic sprint goal and forecast. This reduces the length and complexity of the planning session itself.
This practice also reduces uncertainty and risk within the project. By clarifying requirements and breaking down complex work ahead of time, the team can identify potential dependencies and challenges early. This allows them to address risks before they can impact a sprint, leading to smoother development cycles.
Over time, effective grooming can improve a team’s velocity, which is the measure of how much work they can complete in a sprint. With clearer requirements and more accurate estimates, the team becomes better at forecasting what they can achieve. This leads to more reliable delivery and helps in managing stakeholder expectations about upcoming features and timelines.
Best Practices for Effective Grooming Sessions
It is advisable to timebox the activity, dedicating a specific portion of the team’s capacity to it. Allocating 5-10% of their time per sprint is sufficient to keep the backlog in good shape without taking too much time away from development work.
Teams should avoid trying to groom the entire backlog in one sitting. A more effective approach is to focus only on the items that are likely to be worked on in the next two to three sprints. This ensures that the most relevant work is prepared and ready, preventing the team from wasting effort on items that may change or be removed from the backlog later.
The Product Owner should come to the session prepared with a clear agenda and priorities. Their preparation guides the discussion and ensures the team’s time is used effectively. Lastly, grooming should always be a collaborative discussion, not a directive from the Product Owner. The most valuable insights come from the collective knowledge of the entire team, making open dialogue and shared decision-making important.