Scrum Pattern: Product Backlog Grooming

 

  
ContextThe Development Team provides feedback on Product Backlog Items in the Sprint Planning I meeting, which is not integrated into the Product Backlog.
ProblemThe Product Owner cannot rework the Product Backlog Items in the Sprint Planning I meeting based on the Development Teams feedback.

In some cases, the Product Owner needs information in advance, to prepare Product Backlog Items and in other cases, he needs more than to update Product Backlog Items, than is available in the Sprint Planning I meeting.

Forcestoo little/too much communication
too little/too much advance planning
SolutionEstablish a Product Backlog Grooming Meeting.

By setting up a Grooming Meeting around the middle of each Sprint with the Scrum Team, the Product Owner has the opportunity to get feedback on Product Backlog Items before the Sprint Planning Meeting. He has enough time to rework the Backlog based on the feedback and answers to his questions by the Development Team. Thus a certain amount of work of the Sprint Planning I meeting is transferred into a new meeting and the Sprint Planning I can often be done faster. Usually the Product Backlog Grooming Meeting results in Product Backlog Items, which are already decomposed and analyzed to fit into a Sprint.

Resulting ContextThe Product Owner has integrated the Development Teams feedback into the Product Backlog before the Sprint Planning Meeting.

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