Now that I’ve discussed the four key meetings in the Scrum method for agile software development, I’d recommend teams consider adding one more to the mix: the Scrum product backlog. Although meeting the grooming (or maintenance) backlog of a scrum product is not a formal part of the Scrum process, Scrum founder Ken Schwaber advises teams to devote five percent of their time, per sprint, to this activity. (As with other Scrum Meetings, it is recommended that the Scrum Backlog be prepared at the same time, place, and duration for each sprint.)
The Team, Product Owner, and ScrumMaster attend the backlog grooming meeting. During the meeting, everyone works together to prepare the backlog for the next race planning meeting. This may include adding new stories and epics, extracting stories from existing epics, and estimating effort for existing stories. Why did he do this? Because a well-maintained backlog will prevent sprint planning meetings from dragging on for an unnecessarily long time. If the scrum backlog items are written with clearly defined acceptance criteria and are graded by the appropriate team members, the planning process will not stop with the work that could have been done prior to the meeting.
Setting aside time for each sprint to maintain the backlog of your scrum product ensures that this initial planning always happens. It also makes prolonged and even tense conversations about appreciation, prioritization, etc. irrelevant. In general, grooming a scrum product backlog provides the project team with an opportunity to discuss and modify stories prior to the planning meeting. It can be difficult for a team to pull away from their work in the middle of the highway, but this preventive maintenance will help keep your sprint planning meetings productive and to the point.