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In an Agile project, the concept of Product Backlog Refinement is no stranger. While the term itself has undergone multiple iterations because of the word 'refinement'; the activity associated with the term, which is either held as a scheduled meeting or regular process, holds a lot of importance in the world of project delivery today.

The need to Product Backlog Refinement best practices has been felt by Product Managers and Scrum Masters because this is one activity when done correctly, can get fruitful and value-driven results.

Let us understand the basics of Product Backlog Refinement first before we proceed ahead with understanding the best practices.

What is a Product Backlog Refinement?

It is the process of reviewing the Product Backlog by the Product Developer, of items that are not part of the ongoing Sprint, to make certain that all the items maintained in the Product Backlog are relevant, are prioritized, and the top items are ready for delivery.

It is also known as Product Backlog Refinement and Story Time.

During a Product Backlog Refinement session, the focus of the team is to ensure that 

• The Product Backlog has relevant items.
• Irrelevant items get trashed.
• User Stories are arranged as per priority 
• Including new items based on user feedback
• Making changes with the estimation as per updated information on hand

Why is Product Backlog Refinement essential?

The purpose of refinement is to ensure that the continuity between user expectation and market feedback and project deliverance is always maintained. It is also important to complete the Product Backlog tasks on priority. 

The objective is also to keep the Product Backlogs populated with relevant tasks to-do, which is because, in its basic nature, the Product Backlog is a storehouse of information. The dynamic nature of the Product Backlog needs to be ensured at all costs; so that there are ample stories ready for iterations, at any given time.

Problems of Product Backlog Refinement

The reason behind refining the Product Backlog as a scheduled process was felt by Project Teams and Product Owners when it was perceived that if the refinement sessions are not treated as open-for-discussion and an open-ended forum, there are no effective results derived. 

Product Backlog Refinement can be productive only when it becomes a collaborative platform - each open to sharing ideas, brainstorming, and discussing the same.

This is where the need to follow Product Backlog Refinement best practices is pertinent. Let us discuss some of the top Product Backlog Refinement tips.

Best Practices for Product Backlog Refinement

Best Practice #1: Product Backlog Refinement works only when it is a team effort 

Participants or rather people who attend the session are the most important entity for Product Backlog Refinement. It needs to be an organized affair, first and foremost. The session has to be scheduled and the same should be informed to the participants beforehand, in a planned manner. 

The Product Backlog Refinement session must include representation from across all teams that are involved in Product Development. But it is equally important that not everyone is invited to the session. So, who all should be attending the session mandatorily?

• The Product Owners
• The Scrum Masters
• Developer
• Users, SMEs etc.

Anyone else for the meeting should be by invitation. Leave out calling in a crowd. It is important to call only key Stakeholders or top representatives from each team. While the entire purpose of the Product Backlog Refinement session is to get ideas, it is also about getting practical ideation - so, remember, do not unnecessarily crowd it up because too many cooks can spoil the broth.

Best Practice #2: Work on building a core product discovery team

One of the topmost Product Backlog Refinement best practices is to create the core team- this is the team that is dynamically involved in matching customer needs, user feedback with feasible features. This team should have people from sales and marketing, and the customer service team also.

There is a Product Owner who is the guardian of the Product Backlog Refining sessions. But he needs to be supported by a team that is cross-functional with representations from teams that handle customers directly and the product Developer.

The planning for Product Backlog Refinement sessions should be the responsibility of this core product discovery team. This way the Product Backlog Refinement session will proceed in an organized and planned manner.

Best Practice #3: Avoid lengthy and long-drawn meetings

This is another Product Backlog Refinement best practice. Meetings should be typically kept short. Else, it can get boring and long drawn. Since the purpose is to make the session interesting and interactive, choose to keep the duration of the meeting to less than an hour. Also, if it is a meeting that takes typically about 1 hour, go in for a weekly session. If, you, however, choose to go in for shorter meetings- then repeat the regularity of the sessions.

Best Practice #4: Never forget the customers

The entire purpose of going into detailing and discussing the Product Backlogs is to satisfy and engage your customer. So, the target user should never be out of the mind. It is not the responsibility of the Product Owner only to keep the meeting on track and oriented towards the customers. Everyone participating in the meeting is equally responsible for being focused- all ideas, the decisions to eliminate unwanted User Stories and including new ones, amending the present ones, should be consciously and responsibly done by all participants.

Best Practice #5: Follow the 20/30/50 Rule

Another Product Backlog Refinement best practice is to follow the 20/30/50 Rule. It is a popularly used rule so that the prioritization is effective. The rule states that:

• 20% of the Product Backlog items should be always almost ready for delivery.
• 30% of the stories should be in a phase where there is enough information though detailing needs to be done. These stories are such that the product Developer should take up for immediate Refinement with the concerned people, following the 20% Product Backlog stories.
• The remaining 50% of ideas are all there in the background and a discussion needs to be done on which to take up and which to discard.

Best Practice #6: Treat the Product Backlog meeting with seriousness

One thing is for sure that the Product Backlog Refinement meetings are not meant for chitchat or time pass. Neither should the sessions be for getting clarity on other inter-team issues. This session should focus completely on ideas refinement. Therefore, it is essential to come prepared to the meeting. The scope and goals should be clear and concise- everyone should be on the same platform. 

Best Practice #7: D.E.E.P ideology should be followed

A Product Backlog Refinement best practice is to follow the D.E.E.P philosophy coined by Mike Cohn. This Philosophy helps companies looking forward to adopting and improving Agile process use.  Let us see how Mike Cohn defines the D.E.E.P ideology:

Detailed Appropriately- this means that the detailing of ideas should be relevantly done. So, the item or the User Story that is high on priority should typically have more details than the Product Backlog items that are not so relevant at the moment.

Estimated- is important for understanding the cost implications on story points and ideas. 

Emergent- is for the new ideas that should be kept adding to the Product Backlog as and when the newer discoveries are being made. This is because this is a dynamic process and emerging ideas are required to keep the process continuous. 

Prioritized- the entire process of Product Backlog Refinement depends on prioritization. The ideas and User Stories that have the highest priority need to be delivered at the earliest. The not-so-important ideas need to be pushed back to either delete them completely or put them on the lowest priority.

Best Practice #8: Conduct the session following best practices

You are the Product Owner or the Scrum Master and you need to ensure that the Product Backlog Refinement session happens professionally. Best practices need to be followed at all costs. Ensure that everyone's ideas are respected. That all ideas are heard and evaluated with gravity. There should be an open environment where everybody should be given a fair chance to discuss and share. There could be clashes because there are cross-functional teams present but as the mediator, you need to be well-balanced and just. The objective should be to be focused and reach your goals strategically.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of the Product Backlog Refinement in the Software Development process is undisputed. The Software Development process is dynamic- it goes on, it continues- it is not a one-time effort. Therefore, it is so very vital to go back and work on earlier ideas, time, and again. It is also important to keep amending and adjusting the ideas to suit the current requirements. This is why it is critical to follow Product Backlog Refinement best practices for productive and optimized effect.