DEEP-ening the Product Backlog

Roman Pichler's D.E.E.P. acronym describes a well-managed backlog.

Detailed : Appropriately detailed High-priority, upcoming backlog items should contain greater detail. This prevents time wasted (and confusion caused) by irrelevant backlog items. It ensures the development team gets all the details they need to accomplish the next sprint's items.

Estimated?-Estimate most backlog items. Storypoints, hours, and T-shirt sizes are common estimations (small, medium, large, x-large). By estimating backlog items, we know their implementation costs, which helps with prioritisation. (We want maximum value with minimum effort.) Estimating allows comparison. Checking your estimate against the actual improves planning.

Emergent—The product backlog reflects real-time business needs and priorities. It should be a swift river where new ideas become finished work, not a stagnant marsh. Include fresh discoveries in the backlog or the product could become obsolete.

Prioritized-What's next? Priority items should be at the top of the backlog. The team that consistently completes their most valued backlog items delivers the most value to customers. To set priorities, one must understand the market (current and future customers define value) and the cost of each item.

Minimize to Maximize the Impact of your Backlog Grooming session:

A good backlog grooming meeting follows the rules of any good meeting: just invite the necessary people, be prepared, and restrict its time.

Invite the right attendees: Who should attend? The product owner must attend. If you require input from business stakeholders, collect it beforehand or limit their participation to one or two. If you require development team input, do it before or after the meeting, or involve just one or two skilled people.

Be Prepared : Share your goals with everyone in advance. Want to start a business epic? Remove or update old items? Make sure everyone on the team knows how to contribute to the goals to maximize the meeting.

Keep It Simple & Short: Meetings can't accomplish everything. Keep it simple. Before each sprint, limit meetings to 1-2 hours every two weeks. Your refinement meeting may rise if your cadence is spaced out. It's often best to divide a long meeting into smaller ones. As product owner, refine the backlog outside of meetings as you gather feedback.

Happy Learning & Executing !