The backlog is a list of tasks in the pipeline which need to be executed by the scrum teams in the upcoming PSIs(Potentially Shippable Increments). The epics/user stories prioritized by the product owner are queued up in the backlog and the scrum teams pull them into the Sprints as per the priority set by the business. The backlog grooming is the process of understanding the backlog items/epics in more detail. To do this the scrum members meet together and discuss the backlog items/epics to get a better clarity on the exact work to be done against each backlog item. In Agile method of software development, the backlog grooming is very essential. The backlog grooming is carried out in Agile method of software development for the following reasons.
1. Better clarity: The business or the product owner decides the epics/user stories to be taken up by the scrum teams and adds them to the product backlog. At this point, the scrum teams will have little or no clarity on those backlog items. During grooming, the developers discuss the abstract epics in detail and understand the type of the work invloved in executing those items. If required, the team members also discuss with product owner to get clarity on the items.
2. Rough estimation of the items: The team members come up with rough estimation for each backlog items. This helps for better planning during PSI planning meetings. This is required because the scrum team needs to tell the business management the the estimation.
3. Early Identification of Dependencies: Certain backlog items may have external dependencies. These dependencies have to be suitably identified and communicated to the external stake holders who are going to resolve them. Identifying external dependencies during Backlog Grooming is recommended because external teams need to learn about the dependencies and plan to resolve them such that the execution of the backlogs is not affected. The execution does get affected if the dependencies are identified late or during the execution itself.
4. Epics split into smaller chunks: Some backlog items may be too huge to accommodate in a PSI, those need to be appropriately split into smaller stories. The smaller the task is the clarity the developers will have and estimate them better.
5. Low Priority Items are isolated: Some backlog items may not be doable. This may be because of several reasons such as technology limitations or the item is of low priority meaning that it adds little or no value to the customers. These items are pushed to the bottom of the backlog list.
6. Scope is clearly defined: We all know that the scope of a task may increase during implementation of the same. This happens because developers did not understand the requirements better. The product marketing states the requirements in abstract and adds to the backlog item. In backlog grooming, the team members have dig deeper and find as much information as they can and turn to product owner to state the scope.
In agile methodology, we generally talk about backlog grooming. It is also called PSI grooming. If required, sprint grooming can also be carried out. In sprint grooming, the stories of next sprint are discussed in the previous sprint. This is micro level grooming. Sprint grooming aids smoother sprint planning process. As part of the grooming process, the defects can also optionally groomed. Defect grooming, the defect is analyzed by all the developers and leads to a 'good fix' whose impacts are identified.
One of the Product Owner’s key responsibilities is grooming the Prioritized Product Backlog to ensure the prioritized requirements in the Prioritized Product Backlog to be included in the next two to three Sprints are refined into suitable User Stories.
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