Backlog preparation for PI Planning

As we discussed in Chapter 7, Release Trains Day-to-Day, the ART executes on a closed loop and, at scale, executes similar ceremonies to the team. In the following diagram, we can see that backlog refinement at the team level correlates to our need to prepare the ART Backlog for PI Planning:

Figure 8.4 – Backlog refinement and preparation for PI Planning correlation (© Scaled Agile, Inc.)

One key reminder is that preparing for PI Planning is a continuous process and that ensuring the ART Backlog is ready is a key activity. As a Coach, you may need to encourage the RTE to work closely with Product Management to ensure they have worked with the Product Owners and teams to socialize and refine the backlog before the PI Planning Event. We don’t want to surprise the teams with new Features during PI Planning.

As PI Planning approaches, the ART Backlog should be built out with fully refined Features;...