In a backlog refinement session, what is the team's main activity?

In a backlog refinement session, the primary focus is to ensure that user stories meet the Definition of Ready, which means they are well-defined, understood, and actionable for the upcoming sprint. This involves reviewing the user stories to clarify requirements, estimate effort, and confirm acceptance criteria, making them suitable for development.

When user stories align with the Definition of Ready, it reduces ambiguity and increases the likelihood that the team can successfully complete the stories within the sprint. This process helps the team ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what needs to be done and that all necessary information is available before the actual sprint starts.

While prioritizing the backlog and asking questions about user stories are indeed important activities that may occur during backlog refinement sessions, they serve as supporting actions rather than the main purpose. Documentation of user stories is also valuable, but the key objective during these sessions is to prepare user stories for the team’s immediate work, aligning them with the criteria needed to initiate development effectively.