Agent skill · product strategy · borghei
backlog-refinement
Backlog refinement playbook covering INVEST quality, vertical story splitting, Definition of Ready, and Definition of Done -- with a Python scorer that grades each story against INVEST and emits a ready/not-ready verdict.
Why this skill is useful
Adds a Python script that grades backlog stories against INVEST criteria, providing actionable insights for refinement that the AI wouldn't generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires python installed locally. About 4k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-07-21. 462 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Backlog Refinement Expert Overview Refinement is the most under-invested ritual in agile teams. Stories arrive at sprint planning oversized, ambiguous, or strategically disconnected, and the team spends planning meetings doing what should have happened the week before. This skill is the refinement playbook: grade stories against INVEST, split them vertically (so each slice ships value end-to-end), and keep a working Definition of Ready and Definition of Done that prevent half-baked work from entering or leaving a sprint. The skill includes a Python scorer (refinementscorer.py) that grades each story in a JSON backlog against the six INVEST criteria and outputs a readiness score (0-6) per story. Stories scoring 5-6 are sprint-ready; 3-4 need targeted refinement; below 3 go back to discovery. This complements wwas/ (Why-What-Acceptance format) and job-stories/ (JTBD format). Either format produces stories; this skill grades them and gets them sprint-ready. Core Capabilities INVEST grading — score each story across Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable (0-6) and triage by score. Vertical story splitting — the 9 Lawrence recipes + SPIDR taxonomy; avoid horizontal (layer/team/sprint) splits. Definition of Ready / Done — input and output quality gates with enforceable templates. Refinement session structure — cadence, candidate volume, triage routing into discovery or planning. When to Use Weekly refinement session -- grade next-sprint candidates against INVEST and split anything too large. Backlog hygiene sweep -- re-grade the top 30 items and retire what no longer connects to strategy. Sprint planning input -- confirm all candidates pass DoR before planning. New team onboarding -- establish a shared definition of "ready" and "done." Velocity diagnosis -- erratic sprint completion usually traces to refinement quality. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills borghei/backlog-refinement