When the backlog is not monitored, it resembles a filled basket of papers from which an employee pulls out a random task and starts working on it, even if it’s outdated or holds no value. Grooming or updating the backlog helps avoid such situations and set a direction so that everyone knows what the priority is.
We share the nuances of grooming in software development and provide a step-by-step guide for backlog meetings.
More About the Process
Backlog is a task list, and grooming (or refinement) is a way of taking care of the backlog. In a “well-groomed” backlog, tasks have clearly defined requirements and priorities.
“When the backlog is in order, the team performs only the necessary tasks efficiently and quickly. When there is no order, the team works without direction and understanding of priorities, and business goals are not achieved. The company loses money on useless work: human hours are wasted, cloud resources are used, and other unplanned expenses occur”,
— Ksenia Filippova, product owner at SimpleOne SDLC
Goals and Objectives of Backlog Grooming
Tasks in the backlog may lose relevance, but with grooming, the backlog can be continuously updated. When tasks in the backlog have clear priorities, the team understands what to work on soon and what can be postponed.
The goal of grooming is to bring clarity to the product work.
The process of working on a product is continuous, so there are cases where tasks become outdated, and priorities change. To make the backlog reflect the real state of the team, each task must be analyzed.
Objectives of grooming are to prioritize all tasks, decompose large ones, and estimate effort.
Participants in the Meeting
Participants in backlog grooming include:
- A product owner or scrum master who plays the role of the facilitator;
- Team members who work on the product.
How Often to Conduct
The frequency of grooming depends on the team’s needs—it can be done regularly, such as once a week, or as needed when tasks accumulate in the backlog.
Step-by-Step Guide to Backlog Grooming
- Preparation for the Session
Before the backlog meeting, it’s important to clear all organizational issues: schedule the meeting, invite participants, and explain the purpose of grooming to colleagues if it’s the first time.
It’s also necessary to determine the volume of tasks to work on during the meeting—this could be the entire backlog or a part of it, such as tasks related to a specific functionality.
- Prioritizing Backlog Items
Tasks are discussed from top to bottom in the list. Each task needs to be prioritized, and the most important, i.e., the most valuable to the consumer, are taken into work.
To clearly determine priorities, prioritization frameworks can be referred to, such as:
- MoSCoW (Must, Could, Should, Won’t)
- RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort)
- ICE (Impact, Confidence, Effort)
- WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)
- Kano Model — a method from marketing that helps evaluate users’ emotional reactions to product functionality.
- Detailing and Clarifying Requirements
Each task in the backlog should have acceptance criteria and a definition of done. Without these, the person responsible for the task will not be able to determine how to bring it to completion.
For example, for the task “Add filter by categories,” acceptance criteria might be:
- The filter should include all existing product categories;
- The user can select multiple categories simultaneously;
- When a category is selected, the product list updates without page reload;
- Selected filters are retained while navigating the site.
- Estimating Task Complexity
Teams often estimate the effort needed for tasks based on their experience—working on previous tasks over time provides an understanding of how much time is required for different types of tasks.
However, empirical estimates may be inaccurate, especially with new tasks the team has not encountered before. In such cases, methods for more precise estimation can help:
- Time-based estimates;
- Story points estimates (Story Points).
- Decomposing Large Tasks
Some tasks in the backlog may seem small at first glance but later turn out to be very extensive. For example, the team needs to add a chat with support in the app. The initial task may include several different processes: designing the UI, implementing back-end, integrating the notification system, and testing. So one task in the backlog turns into two or more.
During grooming, it is important to identify such tasks and decompose them, i.e., break them down into smaller tasks.
- Documenting the Results
Results of grooming should be recorded in a protocol, usually done by the facilitator or an appointed secretary. Documenting results helps summarize task discussions and track changes in the backlog.
Tools for Monitoring the Backlog
Grooming can be done even if the team is not yet using a task tracker. In any business process, tasks are tracked in some way: online spreadsheets, lists, or even sticky notes on an office board. During the team meeting, you can go through them and analyze each one.
Task trackers significantly ease the team’s life by helping to monitor the product backlog. Grooming doesn’t require specialized system functionality—it’s enough to set task priorities, estimate efforts, and link small tasks to epics.
However, as the company grows and more products are in development, there is a need for a specialized platform not only for backlog management but also for the entire lifecycle of IT products. As the company evolves, the complexity of task management, team coordination, and ensuring quality grows—IT Service Management (ITSM) supports building structures and processes that facilitate effective management and development of IT services at all stages of the IT product lifecycle.
Backlog Page Interface in SimpleOne SDLC
“To reach a new level, the team can implement a specialized system for software development management that includes integration of SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) and ITSM (IT Service Management). This will improve the quality of business processes, enhance team coordination, and provide more effective management of the IT product lifecycle based on valuable user feedback”,
— Ksenia Filippova, product owner at SimpleOne SDLC
FAQ: Questions about Grooming
We discussed key aspects of backlog grooming with Ksenia Filippova, Product Owner of SimpleOne SDLC. In this FAQ, you will find answers to relevant questions about grooming that help teams keep the backlog organized and manage tasks effectively.
How often should grooming be conducted?
Grooming is conducted weekly or as needed, depending on the team’s needs.
Who should participate in grooming?
Scrum master, product owner—acting as the facilitator.
Team members: developers, designers, product managers, etc.—participate in discussing each task.
How to avoid prolonging backlog grooming?
There are two risks with grooming meetings:
- The team takes on too large a backlog, which can extend grooming over several hours or days. Solution: divide the backlog and work on it in parts, e.g., by defects or features.
- Instead of roughly estimating tasks, the team discusses details—down to code elaboration. Solution: assign a facilitator who will determine which tasks the team will discuss and how much time it will take, e.g., 12 tasks at 5 minutes each.
What to do with tasks that keep being postponed?
If a task has been in the backlog for many months, it’s not important now. But deleting it isn’t necessary—a non-priority task can become critical at any time. You can block or archive postponed tasks to retrieve them when the team has all the resources to complete them.
How to analyze efficiency?
Grooming is effective if the team has a rough estimate of task pools and a development roadmap as a result. It is believed that in a “well-groomed” backlog, tasks should always be formulated two sprints ahead.
How to start grooming?
You can start small: mark the most priority tasks in the lists, estimate urgency and effort. Gradually, these practices can spread to the whole team so that everyone understands the value of a well-groomed backlog.
Summary
Regular backlog grooming ensures clarity in work, allows efficient resource distribution, and focuses on the most valuable tasks.
Properly organized meetings with the entire team and the use of suitable tools reduce time for completing outdated tasks, improve sprint planning quality, and accelerate product updates. As a result, the team can respond faster to market changes and user needs, directly impacting key business metrics.
