CIPSA Cross-Team Backlog Refinement – Turning Scaled Agile Theory into Practical Execution

According to the CIPSA Framework Guide, one of the meta-events is the Cross-Team Backlog Refinement. The other meta-events, as noted in this article, are CIPSA Planning, CIPSA Daily Stand-ups, CIPSA Review and CIPSA Retrospective. While the CIPSA Sprint is the container event, the latter four are contained events.

However, the CIPSA Cross-Team Backlog Refinement meta-event is neither a container nor a contained event. Even so, this meta-event is essential, as emphasized in the CIPSA Framework Guide.

The guide is free to read and download. The download link is below:

Download the CIPSA Framework Guide

In this post, we will use CIPSA Scrum@Scale to demonstrate how this can be implemented in a practical manner using the MS Project Agile software tool.

Please note that the CIPSA framework supports both Scrum and Kanban at the team level. However, the content below specifically focuses on team-level Scrum scaled to manage multiple Scrum teams.

Basics of Cross-Team Backlog Refinement

As the name tells, in this session the backlog is refined. The backlog presented should be organized and up to date. The Chief Product Owner (CPO) should inform the CIPSA team in advance about the items to be ordered. This can be done by publicly publishing the backlog items for the CIPSA team. 

In every Sprint, the CIPSA team should allocate a few hours for refinement. During this meeting, the CIPSA Scrum Team and the Chief Product Owner (CPO) work together to carry out the refinement activities. Note that the CPO is part of the CIPSA team. 

The purpose of this meeting is to prioritize and order backlog items that may be taken into upcoming Sprints. We usually look ahead by two to three Sprints. The CIPSA team must maintain the discipline of continuously refining backlog items. 

Practical Backlog Refinement

The CIPSA Certification, based on the CIPSA Framework, is practical and hands-on. Therefore, we will now explore how to apply it in a practical, hands-on manner, including Backlog Refinement in our plan.

To include these events in your plan, we will follow just three steps. Note that this is not the only way to incorporate this meta-event; other approaches are also possible.

The steps are not difficult if you've understand how scaling works while using Scrum at team-level and how to apply it with MS Project Agile. 

Step – 1: Build the Product Backlog

The Product Backlog, once prepared, will appear as shown below in MS Project Agile. At this stage, the items are not yet ordered.

As demonstrated above:

• There are several backlog items such as “Login to the trading system”, “Create a new user”, and “Buy a stock”, which are currently unrefined. 
• The Team custom field indicates that these backlog items are not yet associated with any specific Scrum Team. 
• The Sprint built-in field shows that none of the unrefined backlog items have been assigned to a Sprint. 

Step – 2: Add the Backlog Refinement Meta-Event

Next, as the CIPSA Sprint Backlog is prepared, we will include the Backlog Refinement event in our plan. This is shown below.

As shown above:

• We now have an initial cut of the CIPSA Sprint Backlog, along with “Cross-Team Backlog Refinement 1”. 
• The Sprints are associated with the work items, but not with the Cross-Team Backlog Refinement item, since this meta-event occurs outside of the Sprint. 
• Some resources are overallocated, which will be resolved using the resource leveling functionality available in MS Project Agile. 

Step – 3: Repeat Backlog Refinement Meta-Event

I've noted earlier that the Cross-Team Backlog Refinement session occurs periodically and therefore needs to be repeated. This is shown below. 

As demonstrated above, the next Cross-Team Backlog Refinement (number 2) is scheduled to take place before the start of Sprint 2.

Note: These backlog refinement sessions can also be added as recurring events in your plan by using the Recurring Task functionality in MS Project. 

Conclusion

I've repeatedly observed that two events get skipped from Scrum at Team level:

• Retrospectives, and
• Backlog refinements.

The same behavior is also seen in Agile at Scale or Scrum at Scale. 

A CIPSA team is highly likely to skip this meeting, assuming that refinement will take place during CIPSA Sprint Planning. However, the purpose of the CIPSA Sprint Planning meta-event is entirely different! 

Some CIPSA teams miss this event and instead handle refinement in an ad-hoc manner, which is not advisable. Skipping the Cross-Team Backlog Refinement session is a significant misstep.

In every Sprint, the CIPSA team should allocate a few hours for refinement. After all, the Product Backlog is a prioritized and ordered list of items, and only the highest-priority items are selected for upcoming CIPSA Sprints.

Finally:

As we just learned, you can have the Cross-Team Backlog Refinement incorporated into your plan with minimal effort, provided you understand how to apply the theory in practice.

It's only with practical application that the rubber meets the road. And as you proceed, you burn the rubber to learn along the way. CIPSA teaches it for Agile@Scale.

The below explains more on the utility of CIPSA certification and why it shines in your resume.

When going for learning, practical, hands-on applicability is indispensable. CIPSA is radically different when compared with theoretical or "branded" certifications.

CIPSA Certification:

[1] Scaled Agile Certification Course: Certified In Practical Scaled Agile (CIPSA)

[2] Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - CIPSA Certification  

[3] New Practical Scaled Agile Framework – The CIPSA Framework Guide