People sometimes refer to the one-off meetings that happen outside of weekly refinement meetings as pre-refinement. I get it. It's hard to find language to talk about that. But there is no such thing as pre-refinement. Instead, all work associated with adding order, size and detail to items in the Product Backlog is refinement, whether it takes place in a meeting or whether it's work done by an individual outside of a meeting.
During Refinement, Product Backlog items evolve through different levels of decomposition, from very large and vague requests to actionable work that a single Scrum Team could deliver inside a Sprint. In one of my recent classes, Phillip Nesmith called this the Refinement Funnell. This concept reframes the way we think about refinement, shifting the focus from isolated events to a continuous journey that transforms vague ideas into actionable work.
Refinement: A Journey Through the Funnel
The Refinement Funnel is not a single meeting or step but an ongoing process that encompasses all efforts to prepare work for upcoming sprints. It’s the journey that takes a Product Backlog Item (PBI) from ambiguous and undefined to actionable and ready. Think of it as a progression through levels of clarity and decomposition:
Largely Unknown: Work begins as large, vague requests—concepts that reflect a broad customer need or stakeholder desire.
Almost Known: Through collaboration, these ideas are decomposed, clarified, and better understood, aligning with the product vision.
Known: Finally, work becomes well-defined and actionable, meeting the team’s Definition of Ready and becoming ready for a sprint.
Each step in this process is a crucial part of refinement, not something separate.
The Role of Definition of Ready
The Definition of Ready serves as a complementary practice that many teams use to describe when work is ready to Sprint. It establishes a clear, shared understanding of what information or criteria a PBI needs to meet before it can be considered ready for Development. This ensures that work entering a sprint is actionable, achievable, and aligned with the team's capabilities.
By focusing on the Definition of Ready, teams avoid wasting time on unclear or incomplete PBIs, fostering more effective sprint planning and delivery.
Why Pre-Refinement Isn't Necessary
Using terms like "pre-refinement" can create an artificial separation in the refinement process. It implies that refinement is a single event rather than an iterative, collaborative journey. The Refinement Funnel encourages teams to see refinement as a flow of continuous improvement and understanding, rather than a rigid series of disconnected steps.
When we embrace the idea that refinement is the entire journey to readiness, we empower teams to:
Collaborate more effectively across stakeholders.
Break down work incrementally, avoiding bottlenecks.
Maintain a steady flow of well-prepared PBIs, ready for sprint planning.
Embracing the Funnel
The Refinement Funnel provides a useful mental model for understanding how work evolves in Scrum. It highlights the continuous nature of refinement, reinforcing that every activity contributing to readiness is part of the same cohesive process. By adopting this mindset, teams can focus on what really matters—delivering value—without getting bogged down by unnecessary terminology or artificial divisions.
Let’s leave "pre-refinement" behind and embrace refinement as the journey it truly is. With the Refinement Funnel, you can align your team around a shared vision and pave the way for more effective and meaningful sprints.