The Value of Backlog Grooming and Sprint Planning During the Development Process

A story should be groomed before it becomes ready for the sprint planning process. The development team decides on sprint goals, story points, and duration in consultation with the product owner. Thereafter, the development crew determines the items that should be prioritized in sprint backlogs. Sprint backlog seeks to help the development teams to remain focused on the critical items that need work. Sprint backlog becomes bigger and bigger during the process of software development. The purpose of backlog grooming is to keep the items organized. Product owners ought to review the backlog before the sprint planning session to ensure that priorities are set right, feedback from past meetings is incorporated, and the prioritized items have the correct information. Theoretically, backlogs should have prioritized items alone. However, they become the dumping place for features, bug requests, and ideas. Backlog could easily become overcrowded and uncontrollable. Thankfully, grooming can be done to refine the backlog items by removing the unimportant tasks and stories and retaining the priority items.

Teams should be cautious about cluttering the backlog with information when considering sprint planning and backlog grooming. The primary backlog activities entail removing the unwanted stories that aren’t aligned to the existing product direction, dividing large items into manageable work units, reprioritizing stories by moving items of low priority to the backlog’s bottom, adding work items, and updating estimates. The advantages of regular backlog grooming become apparent when development teams access information required for sprint action easily. Well-maintained and organized backlogs help developers to become productive during the sprint planning sessions.

Grooming sessions have a great impact on sprint planning sessions. Development crews that have mastered backlog grooming realize the benefits of testable work units, correct story size, and clear requirements. Zibtek is a premier software development institution that understands the advantages of backlog grooming and sprint planning. We regularly revisit the backlog grooming role as an ongoing component of the scrum process. Our development process seeks to make sprint sessions productive by using aggressive backlog grooming. Visit us at www.zibtek.com/blog/backlog-grooming-and-sprint-planning-whats-the-difference/.