Managing Products with Agility [P2]: Managing Products with Agility / Product Backlog Management - Myth 14: Refinement is a required meeting for the entire Scrum Team

Question 1

What does the Scrum Guide say about this myth?

Answer 1

• Product Backlog refinement as[the act of adding detail, estimates and order items in the Product Backlog].
• is an ongoing collaboration between the Product Owner and the Development Team and that the Scrum Team as a whole decides how and when to do this.
• refinement is not an event!!!! → organic thing that just happens when needed

Question 2

Purpose of backlog refinement

Answer 2

• “Scrum provides a lightweight framework for allowing learning to happen as quickly as possible without losing the focus needed for solving complex problems.”
• quick break things into small enough sizes to do in a sprint, get shared understanding and avoid waste as much as possible!!
• (1) clarification, 2) break down, 3) add/remove items from backlog, 4) estimate

Question 3

How much refinement do you need to have done?

Answer 3

Refine the work that will be done within a couple of sprints

Question 4

Items on a Product Backlog are essentially reminders of?

Answer 4

“conversations that we will need to have in the future”

Question 5

Problems with “meetings”

Answer 5

• not all activities related to refinement are suited for the whole team - e.g. subgroups can get clarification then converge conclusions back to team
• breaking down takes time to work through complexities
• clear flow in a sprint - don’t want to disrupt - only 4 events, not 5 (refinement)
• not engaging for complex work

Question 6

What is the diverge -converge pattern

Answer 6

• decide on items that need to be clarified and broken down
• smaller groups break down work (diverge) and share info back after done (converge) later in the sprint
• multiple diverge-converge cycles in sprint okay

Question 7

is limiting refinement to analysts or lead devs a pattern or anti-pattern?

Answer 7

anti-pattern

Question 8

More tips to refine work differently?

Answer 8

• Invite the Scrum Team to form smaller groups that take responsibility for the refinement of particular items during the upcoming Sprint. Let them decide how and when to do this
  
  • Schedule moments where the pairs share their ideas and insights + get feedback
• No jira/tech (timewasting to type and watch) - post-its or drawings and ask the team to enter it into the tool afterwards. If you really need to use tools during refinement, make sure that everyone has access to it and can work in it collaboratively
• Combine Liberating Structures (more fun)
  
  • If you’re breaking down challenging items, invite people to[draw the problem]. Use[1–2–4-ALL]to quickly identify potential strategies or[Troika Consulting] to give and get help. Use supporting material, like[our sheet with 10 potential strategies] for breaking down work
• Invite stakeholders to participate in refinement where needed - easy clarity
• Invite team members to decide for themselves if they want to join meetings where the purpose is to break down specific items. Have them determine if they can contribute something to the conversation. If this results in nobody showing up, you have a good topic for the upcoming Sprint Retrospective
• Experiment with options for team
• Physical backlog - easier to see stuff and highlight issues with sticky notes
• Go for a walk with the team to do refinement rather than having a meeting