What is backlog grooming or backlog refinement?
Backlog grooming or backlog refinement refers to the ongoing efforts of product teams to prioritize and clean up the agile software development backlog for future sprints.
Backlog grooming consists of activities such as:
- Eliminating old or irrelevant user stories
- Adding new user stories that come from feedback
- Refining user stories to be more digestible
- Prioritizing and ordering user stories
- Identifying roadblocks and risks related to the backlog
Why is backlog grooming important?
Backlog grooming is essential to an agile team’s success because it reduces noise and keeps development teams focused on useful and valuable tasks. Keeping the backlog clean and free from unnecessary noise means it stays relevant to current needs and keeps development teams working at a high velocity.
Who runs backlog grooming sessions?
Product managers typically own the backlog, and the product owner in agile environments will also share this responsibility. Grooming sessions are managed by either the product manager or product owner, and it's not uncommon to see a scrum master or project manager lead the grooming session.
Who attends backlog grooming sessions?
Usually the leaders within your agile team will meet to keep the backlog groomed so the development flow is uninterrupted. Other people who commonly attend backlog grooming sessions include:
- Product managers or product owners
- Scrum masters or project managers
- Lead engineers on the scrum team
- Influencers like QA, UX, or Support
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