One anti-pattern that emerges when teams do not spend enough time refining the backlog is that they enter new Iterations without enough Stories prepared. This can result in several negative consequences, such as: 123 The team may struggle to plan and commit to the Iteration Goals, as they lack clarity, feasibility, and testability of the Stories.
The team may face delays, rework, and waste, as they encounter unanticipated dependencies, risks, or technical issues during the Iteration.
The team may deliver low-quality or incomplete Stories, as they rush to meet the Iteration deadlines or compromise on the Definition of Done.
The team may lose focus, alignment, and motivation, as they work on ambiguous or unrealistic Stories that do not deliver value to the customers or the organization.
To avoid this anti-pattern, the team should dedicate sufficient time and effort to refine the backlog on a regular basis, preferably every Iteration123 Backlog Refinement is an ongoing process where the team collaborates with the Product Owner and other stakeholders to review, split, prioritize, and estimate the Stories in the Team Backlog4 One of the main objectives of Backlog Refinement is to ensure that the Stories are ready for Iteration Planning, which means they are clear, feasible, testable, and small enough to be completed in a single Iteration2 By doing so, the team can improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of their work, as well as deliver value to the customers and the organization