Three Amigos Session vs. Backlog Grooming
Overview
Both Three Amigos Sessions and Backlog Grooming Sessions are essential Agile ceremonies that help refine user stories and prepare work for upcoming sprints. However, they serve different purposes, participants, and outcomes.
Key Differences
| Aspect | Three Amigos Session | Backlog Grooming Session |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Ensures a shared understanding of a single user story, focusing on requirements, feasibility, and testability. | Reviews, prioritizes, and refines the Product Backlog to ensure it's well-structured for future sprints. |
| Timing | Typically held before development starts on a user story (after backlog grooming and before sprint planning). | Conducted regularly (mid-sprint or before sprint planning) to maintain a well-ordered backlog. |
| Participants | 3 Key Roles: - Product Owner (Business) - Developer (Engineering) - QA (Testing) |
Broader Group: - Product Owner - Scrum Master - Developers - QA/Testers - (Sometimes) Stakeholders |
| Scope | Focused on a single user story to clarify details, refine acceptance criteria, and define test cases. | Covers multiple backlog items, including prioritization, refinement, and estimation of work. |
| Output | - Refined user story with clear acceptance criteria. - Identification of test scenarios and edge cases. |
- Prioritized, estimated backlog items. - Removal of outdated or irrelevant stories. - Stories broken down into smaller tasks if needed. |
| Process | Highly interactive, deep-dive discussion on user story details and feasibility. | More structured, broader discussion on backlog organization and refinement. |
How They Work Together
- Backlog Grooming happens first: The Product Owner and Scrum Team refine, estimate, and prioritize stories.
- Three Amigos Sessions happen next: Before implementation, a focused discussion ensures that stories are well-defined, testable, and ready for development.
Example Scenario
Backlog Grooming Session
- The team meets to review 10 backlog items.
- They prioritize "User Login Feature" for the next sprint.
- The story is estimated at 8 story points and marked "Ready for Refinement."
Three Amigos Session (for the "User Login Feature")
- The Product Owner, Developer, and QA discuss:
- What happens if a user enters incorrect credentials?
- Should we support social logins?
- How do we handle security for failed login attempts?
- They define acceptance criteria and test scenarios in BDD format.
Which Session Should You Use?
| Use Case | Three Amigos | Backlog Grooming |
|---|---|---|
| You need to prioritize and refine multiple stories | ❌ | ✅ |
| You need detailed discussions on a single story before implementation | ✅ | ❌ |
| You need test scenarios and acceptance criteria defined | ✅ | ❌ |
| You want to break down large Epics into Features and Stories | ❌ | ✅ |
| You want to estimate multiple backlog items | ❌ | ✅ |
Conclusion
- Backlog Grooming ensures that the Product Backlog is well-organized, prioritized, and refined
- Three Amigos ensures that each user story is fully understood, feasible, and testable before implementation.
They work hand-in-hand to improve backlog quality and reduce miscommunication during development.