Backlog Refinement Workshop
Clean Up your Backlog. Deliver Faster.
A three-hour workshop for teams who spend too much time in product backlog refinement Teams and product owners who disagree on how much detail should be included before a sprint starts
- Refine backlog items quickly and confidently.
- Reduce wasted time and confusion in refinement meetings.
- Keep your backlog clear, current, and easy to plan from.
What You'll Be Able to Do
Plan improvements to clean up messy or overgrown backlogs.
Shorten refinement sessions while improving their quality.
Recognize when an item is ready to bring into a sprint.
Why Choose a Backlog Refinement Workshop
Agile teams typically conduct product backlog refinement meetings once per iteration—or shorter meetings weekly—to ensure high-priority product backlog items are ready to be brought into the next sprint.
Our backlog refinement workshop is tailored to meet the needs of the participating teams, which can number one to three. A typical workshop begins with an educational section devoted to topics selected during a pre-course call.
Each three-hour, interactive backlog refinement workshop is led by an experienced Mountain Goat Software mentor.
At the end of this session, participants will be able to refine backlog items much more quickly with less disagreement over how much detail is appropriate. Participants will also be able to plan improvements to clean up messy product backlogs and ensure they remain in good shape.
Access Our Resources, Planning Poker® and AI Toolkit
Expanded access to MGS Essentials, included with your trainining, is your toolkit for doing agile better, with resources that help you and your team move faster, plan smarter, and deliver more value.
Access live events, video lectures, and a powerful set of tools including online Planning Poker®, the Elements of Agile assessment and AI tools for coaching, story splitting and backlog item generation.
Upcoming Public Training
Course Includes:
Your Mountain Goat Instructors
Mountain Goat has handpicked instructors that share our training values. These are people with deep experience, who are leading teams with agile today and can give you real-world answers about what does and doesn’t work.
Mike Cohn
With 20+ years of agile training experience, Mike has honed a talent for explaining agile concepts with clear illustrations and real-life examples. Participants enjoy his passion for teaching the agile methodologies in a relatable and digestible way.
Read more...Mike is CEO of Mountain Goat Software, and one of the industry’s most well-respected Certified Scrum Trainers. He is the author of User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development, Agile Estimating and Planning, and Succeeding with Agile. He is a co-founder and former board member of the Scrum Alliance, and a co-founder of the non-profit Agile Alliance, home of the Agile Manifesto.
Scrum Certifications include: CSM, CST, CSPO, A-CSM, CSP-SM, CSP-PO
Lance Dacy
As a Certified Scrum Trainer, Lance has trained and coached teams through many successful Scrum implementations since 2011, from Fortune 20 companies to small start-ups. Lance is also experienced in showing agile coaches and managers how to help cross functional, self-organizing teams deliver high value for customers as early as possible by using Scrum.
Read more...Lance is a true evangelist for Scrum, having founded the successful DFW Scrum User Group in Dallas as an outlet for professional networking and a community sounding-board for Scrum. He has a fun and generous personality, and shares his passion for Scrum in every course.
Scrum Certifications include: CSM, CST, CSPO, CAL-1, A-CSM, A-CSPO, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, Path to CSP Educator, Scrum Foundations Educator.
Brian Milner
Starting out as a developer, Brian worked up through management layers, then transitioned to Scrum Master, then Coach and now Certified Scrum Trainer. His practical experience in both waterfall and agile organizations helps him clarify what works and what doesn’t, plus he has many years’ experience helping teams transition to agile.
Read more...Brian also brings more than 20 years of software development experience to his classes. People remark on his ability to answer even tough questions with ease, enthusiasm, and insight.
Scrum Certifications include: CSM, CST, CSPO, CAL-Educator, CAL-1, A-CSM, A-CSPO, CSP-CM, CSP-PO, Path to CSP Educator, Scrum Foundations Educator.
Scott Dunn
Scott Dunn has more than 20 years of experience in management, project management (PMP), engagement management, and software development (MCSD). He’s worked in a variety of areas and industries from social media to mortgage banking, healthcare, defense, e-commerce, plus state and local government sectors.
Read more...He has helped coach and train at dozens of companies transitioning to an agile approach using Scrum. Clients have included EMC/Dell Technologies, Yahoo!, LaserFiche, Kaiser Permanente, Rovi/Tivo, eBay, and GE Healthcare.
Scott is passionate about strengths-based teams and solutions-based approaches to people and organizational issues. He is an enthusiastic and encouraging trainer.
Scrum Certifications include: CSM, CST, CSD, CSPO, CEC, Educator-CAL, CAL-1, CAL, A-CSM, A-CSD, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSP-D, Path to CSP Educator, CSD Educator, Scrum Foundations Educator.
Lucy O’Keefe
Lucy has been a developer, Product Owner and Scrum Master in many scrum teams during her 28 years of IT experience. This brings a valuable perspective to the Teaching Assistant role as she helps students have a great training experience.
Read more...“I just love it when I see the light bulb go off during a class and know that the student really gets it.”
Lucy also brings a rich travel experience to her role. She is originally from Brazil, lived in Italy during high school and then came to the US for college—where she lived in the same dorm as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson! These days she resides in Charlotte, NC with her two wonderful dogs Chloe and Ollie.
Cort Sharp
Cort has degrees in physics and computer science, as well as experience coding and QA testing. If you’ve taken a live, online course with us you may have seen Cort in his producer’s role, making sure things run smoothly and students have a great experience. He also acts as Scrum Master for the team of producers, making sure that they have the support needed to do their work with confidence.
Read more...“It’s awesome being able to end a 2-day class with people shocked at how quickly it went by and how engaging and fun it was.”
In addition to his love for agile, Cort is also a serious swimmer and has been coaching swimmers for 5 years. He once met Michael Phelps and a wingspan comparison ensued. Cort’s was longer, but it is believed Phelps was gracious about the defeat and no longer holds it against Cort.
Got a Question?
What happens when you contact us?
- We’ll get back to you within a day.
- Answer your training questions and discuss any custom needs.
- Recommend the best agile training path for your teams and goals.
- Want to talk to someone? Schedule a call.