GETTING STARTED

Introduction to
Backlog Grooming
contents
SECTION
backlog grooming? SECTION backlog grooming using the

1 what is backlog grooming?
who should be involved in a grooming session?
4
5 3 story map
benefits of backlog grooming 6
example: car infotainment system 17
guidelines for effective backlog grooming 7
issues linked to an epic 18
difference b/w backlog grooming and issues without epics 19
sprint planning 8 prioritising on the story map I 20
prioritising on the story map II 21
refining the backlog - summary & estimation 22
SECTION
backlog grooming example:
 refining the backlog - sequencing 23

2 Apple TV
prioritising the backlog 11
breaking down big stories 24

refining 12
breaking epics down into user stories 13
estimating 14
repeat and refine 15
WORKSHOP

What is
Backlog Grooming?
what is backlog grooming?

Backlog grooming is when the Product Manager and their team review items on the backlog,
ensuring it only contains appropriate items ordered by priority, and that the items on the top of the
backlog are ready for delivery.

Some of the activities that occur during the refinement of the backlog include:

- Removing user stories that no longer appear relevant

- Creating new user stories in response to newly discovered needs
- Re-assessing the relative priority of stories
- Assigning estimates to stories which have yet to receive one
- Correcting estimates in light of newly discovered information
- Splitting user stories which are high priority but too large to fit in an upcoming iteration
- Looking more extensively into the total backlog to enable long-range technical and project
planning

Source: Agile Alliance

who should be involved in a grooming session?

Invitation to participate should be open to the whole

team (however, smaller groups work better)

Scrum Masters and Product Managers lead the

session

While it is desirable to have the whole development

team, this is not always feasible. At a minimum, the
lead developers should attend

There should be at least a few stakeholders involved

(keep numbers to a minimum to avoid distractions)
benefits of backlog grooming

Increases efficiency of the team by greatly reducing uncertainty and unknowns

Better refined stories are more accurately estimated, tested and implemented

Delays related to external dependencies and larger efforts are discovered sooner

Increases efficiency of the team due to increased shared knowledge and understanding of the product

Allows the team to maintain a sustainable, higher pace = greater team velocity

Reduces the time spent on Sprint Planning sessions

Increases the value of Sprint Planning meetings

guidelines for effective backlog grooming sessions

Set a goal for the session: send out a list of stories you want to groom ahead of time and ask
the team to review, coming to the meeting with any questions, tasks, hours etc. - the overarching
goal should be for all attendees to leave with a clear understanding of what is left for project
completion and the upcoming sprint goals

Keep the group small: involve the PM, their agile team and a few stakeholders. A smaller group
= more engagement and the less likely you are to get sidetracked.

Meet frequently: a good backlog grooming session leaves everyone feeling familiar with the
product backlog, gives them a clear understanding of the goals for the next sprint, and means
they can hit the ground running in the Sprint Planning meeting. Schedule grooming sessions
regularly, usually a few days before the Sprint Planning meeting
differences between backlog grooming
and sprint planning sessions

backlog grooming session sprint planning meeting

To maintain a healthy updated product To agree on a goal for the next sprint and the
purpose backlog to ensure time spent in sprint planning set of backlog items that will help the team to
is optimised achieve it

1) re-writing backlog items to be more 1) prioritising backlog item s

components expressive and deleting
CV obsolete ones 2) agreeing on the amount
CV of backlog items
2) Breaking up large stories in the sprint based on capacity

when? A few days prior to the sprint planning meeting At the beginning of every sprint
WORKSHOP

Backlog Grooming
Example: Apple TV
product backlog example: Apple TV
A product backlog for Apple TV at the beginning of a grooming session

As an iTunes user I want to redeem my gift card so that I can claim my credit ATV-121

As a user I want to find movies easily so that I save time browsing long lists ATV-111

As a user I want to be able to fast forward movies so that I skip scary parts of the film ATV-483

As a user I want to be able to save my favourite movies to a list so that I can watch them later ATV-345

As a user I want to use Paypal as my preferred payment method so that I feel safe about my transactions ATV-345
prioritising the backlog

The Product Manager knows that their users are having significant trouble searching for films, resulting in higher
churn. They decide to prioritise that backlog item for the upcoming sprint by moving it to the top of the list.

As a user I want to find movies easily so that I save time browsing long lists ATV-121

As an iTunes user I want to redeem my gift card so that I can claim my credit ATV-111

As a user I want to be able to fast forward movies so that I skip scary parts of the film ATV-483

As a user I want to be able to save my favourite movies to a list so that I can watch them later ATV-345

As a user I want to use Paypal as my preferred payment method so that I feel safe about my transactions ATV-345
refining the backlog
The Product Manager and Scrum Master begin to breakdown the prioritised backlog item. After discussions with
the team, they realise that this user story is going to be a large amount of work. They refine the user story into an
epic, to better illustrate the amount of work involved to achieve this objective

As a user I want to find movies easily so that I save time browsing long lists ATV-121

=
Search
breaking epics down into user stories
Using the epic, the team start to define various user stories that sit under the umbrella of that ‘Search’ epic. The
team prioritise the user stories by most immediate value to the customer. Value can be identified through
conversations with users, analytics on usage patterns, or another insight appropriate for your product.

Search

As a user I want to free text search so that I save time browsing long lists ATV-485

As a user I want to browse by genre so I can find movies I like quicker ATV-486

As a user I want to browse by most popular so I can find inspiration for films to watch ATV-487

As a user I want to browse by most popular by genre so I can find movies I like quicker ATV-488

As a user I want to browse by recent addition by genre so I find movies I haven’t watched before quicker ATV-489
estimating
Now that the user stories are ordered by priority, it is time for the team to allocate estimates to how long/how much
effort each particular story will take. This requires team members detailing requirements and acceptance criteria to
understand the scope of the work. Every team member is given the opportunity to put forward their estimate and
justification. The Product Manager will take the majority SP estimate or average, in this example the majority of the
team think the estimate should be 2.

As a user I want to free text search so that I save time browsing long lists ATV-485 2

2 1 2

3 2
repeat and refine
Continue going through the backlog with your team splitting stories and breaking out tasks. Work with the team to
prioritise backlog items, identify requirements, acceptance criteria and estimate work = a healthy backlog and an
enlightened team

As a user I want to free text search so that I save time browsing long lists Search ATV-485 2

As a user I want to browse by genre so I can find movies I like quicker Search ATV-486 3

As a user I want to browse by most popular so I can find inspiration for films to watch Search ATV-487 1

As a user I want to browse by most popular by genre so I can find movies I like quicker Search ATV-488 3

As a user I want to browse by recent addition by genre so I find movies …….. Search ATV-489 3
WORKSHOP

Backlog Grooming:
Using the Story Map
Example: Car
Infotainment System

This is an ‘unfiltered’ view of

a story map for a Car
Infotainment System. It has
not been split out into
Sprints or Versions.

This view allows us to see all

of the issues and Epics in a
team’s Agile Board.
Issues Linked to

an Epic

Highlighted on the left of

the Story Map, we see all of
the issues underneath their
associated Epics.

The Epics sit along the top

of the Story Map, and the
issues sit underneath.
Issues without

Epics

On the right, the open

‘Backlog’ panel displays all
of the issues that are not
associated with an Epic in a
Team’s Agile Board.

This view allows us to see all

of the issues associated with
a Team’s Agile Board
(whether they are
associated with an Epic or
not)
Prioritising the 

Backlog on the
Story Map I

Stories are prioritised by

value to the user, with the
most valuable stories placed
at the top of the story map

We can prioritise issues on

the story map by simply
dragging and dropping
them into their designated
positions.
Prioritising the 

Backlog on the
Story Map II

We can also prioritise issues

that are not associated with
Epics in the ‘Backlog’ Panel.

These issues should also be

prioritised by value to the
user, with the most valuable
items sitting at the top of
the ‘backlog’.

Simply drag and drop these

issues within the ‘Backlog’
panel into their designated
positions
Refining the 

Backlog - Summary

& Estimation

The ability to inline edit the

estimate and summary of an
issues is simple inside the
story map. Simply click on
the summary or estimate
and begin to type.

Not having the pop the

‘Edit Issue’ dialogue, like in
the Jira Backlog, makes
backlog grooming in the
story map fast and
collaborative
Refining the 

Backlog - Sequencing

The Story Map and Backlog

Panel can be split by Sprints
or Versions by selecting the
preferred Swimlane from
the dropdown at the top of
the Story Map.

Work is easily sequenced

into Sprints or Versions, by
dragging and dropping
issues into their designated
Swimlanes
Breaking Down Big
 Create New Issues
Stories Inside the Story Map
hover over the space you wish to create

a new issue. The ‘Add new or existing
issue’ dialogue will appear. Click new

Sometimes, a user story is

too big to complete as one
task. Breaking stories
down into a few smaller
stories is simple on the
backlog with the ‘Quick
Quick Create
Create’ feature. create tasks, stories or bugs and
inline edit the story summary without
ever having to leave the Story Map.
Hit enter to continue ‘quick creating’
issues