Too much refinement wastes time. Too little refinement leads to chaos. The key is knowing where to draw the line.
Scrum teams often fall into one of two traps:
The goal isn’t perfection—it’s readiness. Your backlog should be refined just enough that developers can confidently pull work into a Sprint without endless clarification.
It’s about finding the Goldilocks zone: Not too much, not too little. Just enough.
How do you know if you’ve found it? Your Sprint Planning should be focused on commitment, not discovery.
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
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