- CIPSA Planning,
- CIPSA Daily Stand-ups
- CIPSA Review
- CIPSA Retrospective, among others.
One of the meta-events which usually gets overlooked is the CIPSA Cross-Team Backlog Refinement session.
It’s an ongoing activity for the CIPSA Team. In this article, we will know more on it.
The content of this article is based on the CIPSA Framework. See here.
Exhaustive explanation is part of the CIPSA certification course. See here. CIPSA is world's only Practical Scaled-Agile certification. It supports both Scrum and Kanban.
To read all articles of this series use this link:
What It's and What It's Not series for CIPSA
CIPSA Cross-Team Backlog Refinement – What It’s and What It’s Not
Among many, the following are some of the top ones. Detailed explanations with practical, hands-on demonstration using real-world projects is part of the CIPSA Certification Course.
1. Not Team Specific, but Cross-Team Effort: The Backlog Refinement is not limited to a single team working on its own backlog items, but it's a cross-team effort.
Representatives from multiple Scrum or Kanban teams who share the same Product Backlog will be participating in this meta-event. This cross-team collaboration meta-event helps ensure that different perspectives are considered, dependencies are identified early, and the upcoming work is understood.
2. Not Optional, but Mandatory: Backlog refinement is not an optional one, but it's mandatory for the CIPSA Team.
Backlog refinement in the CIPSA context is not an optional or occasional activity that teams perform only when they feel the need. It is an essential meta-event that ensures the Product Backlog remains clear, relevant, and ready for planning.
Without this refinement, planning sessions may become inefficient due to unclear requirements, missing details, or unresolved dependencies. Do note that the CIPSA Planning meta-event usually happens after backlog refinement.
3. Not One-time, but Ongoing: The refinement session is not one-time session, but it's an ongoing one throughout the life of the product/service delivery.
The backlog is not a static list that remains unchanged until planning begins. Instead, it evolves continuously as new information emerges, feedback is gathered, and priorities shift. The CIPSA Backlog Refinement meta-event reflects this dynamic nature - clarify, adjust, reorder, or even remove as needed.
4. Not Isolated, but Aligned: The refinement session is not done in isolation, but it's in alignment with the organization's strategic goals and objectives.
Backlog refinement does not happen in isolation from the broader product strategy and/or organizational goals. Rather, it ensures that the backlog items remain aligned with the product vision, which is in turn is alignment with strategic priorities of your organization.
5. Not CIPSA Planning, but a Prep for CIPSA Planning: The Cross-team backlog refinement meta-event doesn't replace the CIPSA Planning meta-event, but in a way complements it.
CIPSA Backlog Refinement should not be confused with the CIPSA Planning meta-event itself. Its role is to prepare backlog items so that planning can be effective and focused. It clarifies scope, identifies inter-team dependencies, and ensures readiness beforehand.
6. Not a Commitment Session, but a Forecasting Tool: This meta-event is not a commitment session for the CIPSA team members, but it's a forecasting tool.
The purpose of backlog refinement is not to commit teams to delivering specific items. Instead, it helps create a realistic forecast of what work might be feasible in upcoming Sprints – as in CIPSA Scaled Scrum (see here), or Releases – as in CIPSA Scaled Kanban (see here).
CIPSA Cross-Team Backlog Refinement – Summary Table
The summary table is shown below. Detailed one is part of the CIPSA certification course.
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Conclusion
I believe this post will bring a lot of clarity with respect to the Cross-Team Backlog Refinement meta-event.
The CIPSA certification, based on the CIPSA framework, focuses on practical scaling with hands-on software tools. The CIPSA certification course has a 70%:30% ratio – 70% practical and 30% theoretical. As a matter of fact, it's world's only Practical Scaled Agile certification.
Want to experience it hands-on? Become a CIPSA. It’s world’s only Practical Scaled Agile certification.
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CIPSA Success Stories and Reviews:
[1] From CHAMP to CIPSA – Taking Agile to the Next Level with Scaled Scrum and Scaled Kanban
[2] Scaling Agile: Key Insights from the CIPSA Framework Introduction
CIPSA Sample Videos and Questions:
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