Product management glossary
Backlog refinement
Also known as: Backlog grooming
Definition: Backlog refinement is the regular activity of reviewing, clarifying, splitting, estimating and re-ordering items in the product backlog so the next pieces of work are ready to build.
Refinement usually happens weekly or once per sprint. The product manager and team clarify acceptance criteria, break large items into smaller ones, remove duplicates and close items that no longer matter.
Much of refinement is admin: rewriting vague titles, fixing categories and finding duplicates. That is the part most worth automating.