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Development Tools Scrum Basics Scrum Events Scrum Events

Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points
Posted by Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points

Order of Scrum events

Hello,

I was wondering about the order of scrum events. Besides the daily stand-up meetings, which happens obviously every day, wouldn't it be better to have the Backlog Refinement before the Sprint Planning and without the product owner? Then include the Product owner in the Sprint Planning (or maybe divide it in two parts - consulting with product owner, and afterwards dividing the tasks), so the product owner can see how much effort the team estimates. (The product owner has to consider cost as well to prioritize items?)

Am I missing something, because it would sound more reasonable that way.

I am looking forward to any kind of answer.

Thanks

2 Answers

Matt Anthes-Washburn
STAFF
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Treehouse Guest Teacher

Hi Felix,

There is no single right way to do Backlog Refinement, but yes, it should certainly happen before Sprint Planning. The team needs to get a better understanding of the work and to create an estimate, both of which are important for planning a sprint.

Remember, the team is working together to come to a shared understanding, so the product owner is a vital part of Backlog Refinement. As a P.O., I often invite others who can contribute to a better understanding, such as designers who have worked on the story or folks from outside the team who need to coordinate with it (such as analytics).

As a product owner, I generally present a story for refinement by saying, "This is what we have so far." I encourage team members to help with the conditions of acceptance and challenge the story with things that might not have been considered. We want to reduce surprises down the road and have a better estimate of the work. If a story gets too gnarly, we break off a smaller story that will be easier to work with.

Also, Backlog Refinement doesn't have to happen in one sitting. It's much easier to prepare the backlog for the next sprint when the team participates in refinement two or more times during the sprint.

Does all that make sense? Does it answer your question?

Matt

Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points
Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points

Thank you for the explanation.

It makes more sense now. I was just confused that the estimation would happen after the the sprint was planned. Also it is good to know that it doesn't have to happen in one sitting.

Thank you very much for your Quick answer.

Ted Sumner
PLUS
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points
Ted Sumner
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points

I just finished the course this morning. My understanding is that the Backlog is controlled by the project owner. It is what makes the development order priorities. Backlog refinement is refining an existing backlog. The owner has to be involved because the owner is who makes the list and priorities. Other members have input, but they cannot add and make changes to the backlog.

With regards to what makes sense to you, this is just a framework to organize adaptive development. Each organization does it a little differently I would guess.

Matt Anthes-Washburn
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Treehouse Guest Teacher

Well put, Ted! The team is collaborating for Backlog Refinement, and teams can develop practices that work for them. The important thing is to work on shared understanding and good effort estimates for the stories in the backlog.

Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points
Felix Sonnenholzer
Felix Sonnenholzer
14,654 Points

Thank you for your quick answer.

You are right, it is just a framework and not an explicit guideline how to organize things.

I was just confused about the effort estimation.

Ted Sumner
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points

Matt,

Since you are in the industry, do you have any suggestions on how to get a first job. I am transitioning from a career as a lawyer to web development. I am enjoying PHP and back end stuff the most.

Matt Anthes-Washburn
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Matt Anthes-Washburn
Treehouse Guest Teacher

Ted, that's an exciting change! I would say that the first steps are to get involved with the community. Look for meetups in your area and start to get to know people. You may find people working on side projects that could use your help, or people with advice on getting connected with a full-time position.

When hiring, a lot of people are going to want to see work you did, so projects you have done for fun or for contract are a nice start. Even Treehouse projects that you have taken to the next level can be a nice way to show your chops.

Do those ideas make sense?

Ted Sumner
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points

Matt,

Thanks for the input. If you have some time would you look at my main portfolio project? It is a site for my son's Cub Scout Pack but located at http://vetsrights.com (for now). The code and my plans for the site are at https://github.com/shred3590. I am currently learning about PHP and MySQL so I can create user registration with photo upload and a roster for the members of the pack. I also created http://biblewordstudy.net in Joomla prior to taking any courses here.