Backlog grooming

Backlog grooming is the ongoing process of reviewing, updating, and prioritizing items in the product backlog to ensure they are clearly defined, relevant, and ready for future sprints. It involves refining user stories, estimating effort, removing outdated items, and aligning priorities with business goals.
The purpose of backlog grooming is to keep the backlog organized, actionable, and manageable, ensuring that development teams always have well-prepared work items for sprint planning. This activity helps maintain team efficiency and project momentum in Agile development.
Advanced
Backlog grooming sessions typically include the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and development team. During these sessions, the team clarifies requirements, breaks down complex items into smaller stories, re-estimates based on new information, and reprioritizes tasks according to business value.
Advanced backlog grooming practices use frameworks like MoSCoW prioritization, WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First), or story mapping to balance effort and impact. Regular grooming, often held once per sprint, ensures that the top backlog items meet the "definition of ready" (DoR) before sprint planning. Well-groomed backlogs improve predictability, reduce planning time, and align delivery with strategic goals.
Relevance
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Example
A SaaS company held biweekly backlog grooming sessions to prepare user stories for future sprints. By refining priorities and clarifying requirements, the team cut sprint planning time by 30% and improved delivery predictability, resulting in faster feature rollouts.