Tips and tricks for great refinements

BACKLOG REFINEMENT - TIPS AND TRICKS

KAI STEVENS

PRODUCT OWNERSAT

HEIN SOUMAN@KSZITTERD@HEINSOUMAN

A PRODUCT OWNER CAN BE LONELY

LET THE PO FIGURE IT OUT AND THEN WE WILL REFINE

REFINEMENT IS A PO SHOW / PARTY

DEV’S: JUST TELL US WHAT TO MAKE AND WE WILL MAKE IT

REFINEMENT IS ALL ABOUT…

HAVING TWO WAY TRAFFIC

CREATING SHARED UNDERSTANDING

§ 1-on-1 refinement

§ Detailed refinement

§ Explorative refinement

DIFFERENT KINDS OF REFINEMENTS

4

1-ON-1 REFINEMENT

§ PO PAIRS WITH ONE DEVELOPER

§ FIGURE OUT COMPLEX REQUIREMENTS

§ OR CLEAR UP QUESTION MARKS DURING THE SPRINT

§ EVERY DAY

§ NO TIME LIMIT

§ PO-ER SHOULD BE APPROACHABLE FOR DEVELOPER(S) TO START 1-ON-1

4

DETAILED REFINEMENT

§ PO PAIRS WITH AT LEAST 2 DEVELOPERS

§ PREPARE THE NEXT SPRINT

§ OR CLEAR UP QUESTION MARKS DURING THE SPRINT

§ AS OFTEN AS NEEDED (OFTEN 3x PER SPRINT)

§ MAX 1 HOUR DURATION

4

EXPLORATIVE REFINEMENT

§ PO PAIRS WITH THE ENTIRE TEAM

§ IMPROVE THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

§ ONCE IN A WHILE (IE. EVERY RELEASE, EVERY QUARTER)

§ NO TIME LIMIT

§ EXAMPLE: AGILE ESTIMATION GAME

YOU REFINED WELL WHEN:

§ Sprint planning is peanuts

§ Implementing the wrong thing seldom happens

§ Any team member can pick up almost any item

§ Quality of the product is stable

§ Estimated story points turned out to be realistic regarding complexity and implemented solutions