Product Backlog Grooming: How can we MAXIMIZE Output?

Scrum Guide say :

Product Backlog refinement is the act of adding detail, estimates, and order to items in the Product Backlog. This is an ongoing process in which the Product Owner and the Development Team collaborate on the details of Product Backlog items. During Product Backlog refinement, items are reviewed and revised. The Scrum Team decides how and when refinement is done. Refinement usually consumes no more than 10% of the capacity of the Development Team. However, Product Backlog items can be updated at any time by the Product Owner or at the Product Owner’s discretion.

Higher ordered Product Backlog items are usually clearer and more detailed than lower ordered ones. More precise estimates are made based on the greater clarity and increased detail; the lower the order, the less detail. Product Backlog items that will occupy the Development Team for the upcoming Sprint are refined so that any one item can reasonably be “Done” within the Sprint time-box. Product Backlog items that can be “Done” by the Development Team within one Sprint are deemed “Ready” for selection in a Sprint Planning. Product Backlog items usually acquire this degree of transparency through the above described refining activities.

Roman Pichler mentioned the strong advantage of having the entire team involved. According to Roman,

Grooming the product backlog collaboratively creates a dialogue within the Scrum team and between the team and the stakeholders. It removes the divide between “the business” and “the techies.” It eliminates wasteful handoffs, and avoids miscommunication and misalignment. Requirements are no longer handed off to the team; the team members coauthor them. This increases the clarity of the requirements, leverages the Scrum team’s collective knowledge and creativity, and creates buy-in and joint ownership.

Charles Bradley suggested that for their team, the best time to do backlog grooming was three business days prior to the start of the next sprint and with the entire team. Charles listed the following benefits of backlog grooming

• More time for the new stories to "sink in" before estimating and working.
• More time to optimize design
• More time to research/bone up on requirement hurdles
• Forces the PO to be well prepared for the SPM.
• If the PO discovers something in presenting new stories then he can take corrective action.

User stories follow a template determined together by the team and stakeholders.

Mike Cohn (2004) recommends the following:
As a <user role>, I want <goal> [so that <reason>].

This template includes the following:
●● User role: A customer of the game or a user of the pipeline who benefits from this story.
●● Goal: The goal of the story. This is a feature or function in the game, tool, or pipeline.
●● Reason: The benefit to the customer or user when this feature or function is used.
The last portion of the story template, “so that <reason>,” is optional. It’s
often left out when the reason is apparent.

Have we covered everything ? We will be able to maximum output from Product backlog grooming session? still there will be discovery , learning which will happen with each team....