Agile & Scrum Practice Question 6: Backlog Refinement Sizing
Agile & Scrum · Test 1 · question 6 of 10
To "save the team time", a Product Owner has started putting size estimates on Product Backlog items herself before refinement sessions. The Developers often find the sizes unrealistic. According to the Scrum Guide, who is responsible for sizing Product Backlog items?
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Answer:
Product Backlog refinement is "the act of breaking down and further defining Product Backlog items into smaller more precise items", an ongoing activity, not a separate event. On sizing the Guide is unambiguous: "The Developers who will be doing the work are responsible for the sizing. The Product Owner may influence the Developers by helping them understand and select trade-offs." Sizes set by someone who won't do the work are guesses the team didn't make and won't trust.
- B is wrong: the Product Owner is accountable for Product Backlog *management* (creating, communicating and ordering items), but not for sizing them. She can influence sizes by clarifying trade-offs, not by setting them. - C is wrong: the Scrum Master helps the team understand the need for clear, concise items and helps the Product Owner find techniques for backlog management; they don't size work. - D is wrong: stakeholders can inform what an item means, but they neither own the Product Backlog nor do the work being sized.
Reference: The 2020 Scrum Guide - Product Backlog