PR-05
Backlog Refinement Depth Advisory
Planning Recommendations
Default severity: medium
PrioritizationEstimationOutputBusiness Value
What it detects
Advises the Product Owner on how many items should be refined and ready (DoR-compliant) at any point in time to support the next N sprints without last-minute scrambling. Based on throughput and typical refinement-to-sprint lag.
Detection formula
sprints_to_buffer = config.pr.refinement_buffer_sprints // default: 2 (keep 2 sprints ready ahead) FOR each_dimension D: required_ready_items(D) = baseline(D).plan_ceiling * sprints_to_buffer current_ready = COUNT(issues WHERE status IN config.workflow.preparation_stages AND dor_score >= config.dod.stages\[\'Ready\'\].threshold) IF current_ready \< required_ready_items(issue_count) THEN FLAG refinement_backlog_thin FORMAT: \'Refinement advisory: keep at least 16–20 items in Ready state at all times (currently: X items ready). Prioritise refinement sessions to replenish.\'Examples in practice
- A team shows advises the product owner on how many items should be refined and ready (dor-compliant) at any point in time to support the next n sprints without last-minute scrambling while refinement buffer sprints is set to 2 (keep 2 sprints ready ahead).
- Example signal: Advises the Product Owner on how many items should be refined and ready (DoR-compliant) at any point in time to support the next N sprints without last-minute scrambling.
Suggested response
Use the advisory outputs to tune refinement, WIP, and planning cadence with data.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
Advises the Product Owner on how many items should be refined and ready (DoR-compliant) at any point in time to support the next N sprints without last-minute scrambling. Based on throughput and typical refinement-to-sprint lag.
Why it matters
When "Backlog Refinement Depth Advisory" keeps appearing, the team is signalling a repeatable process gap. Left unexamined, the pattern hides where work really stalls and makes improvement metrics harder to trust.
What you can achieve
Use the advisory outputs to tune refinement, WIP, and planning cadence with data.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Backlog Refinement Depth Advisory" from firing again?
- What do the cited issues have in common — same root cause or same workaround?
- Who owns the two-week experiment and how will we verify on the next import?
Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.