Feature Refinement

Getting Features ready for PI Planning, just enough and just in time.

01What it's for

Feature Refinement makes Features ready for PI Planning: benefit hypothesis, acceptance criteria, known dependencies and a first split into stories, done together with the teams.

02What it turns into on the old system

It becomes the requirements-analysis phase. Analysts write specifications and hand them over. “Ready” means fully specified.

03How you notice

Teams see Features for the first time at PI Planning.
Refinement produces long design documents.
Features are refined far ahead and are outdated by the time they are planned.

04How to make it work

Refine continuously and about one PI ahead, not more.

Product Management, architects and representatives of the teams that will build it.

Output: benefit hypothesis, acceptance criteria and dependencies. Leave the detailed stories to the teams.