## What Is the Difference Between Continuous and Episodic Backlog Refinement? **Continuous refinement** integrates small, frequent discussions into the team’s normal workflow, allowing items to be refined closer to when they will be delivered. This keeps the backlog lean, context fresh, and decisions closely tied to current priorities. **Episodic refinement**, such as quarterly review sessions, batches this work into large meetings where many items—often far from being worked on—are discussed at once. While episodic refinement can uncover long-term considerations, it risks rehashing low-value items, maintaining irrelevant work, and wasting time debating things that may never be delivered. >[!metaphor] >Episodic backlog reviews are like seasonal flower bed cleanups. Weekly weeding keeps things tidy, but every fall and spring you need to clear dead plants, refresh the soil, and decide which flowers are worth replanting. Likewise, periodic deep reviews clear out stale backlog items, refresh priorities, and ensure only valuable work continues to grow toward the Product Goal. ## Works Consulted 1. Personal Reflection/Experience ## Connections follows:: [[3.2b Episodic Reviews Prevent Stale and Irrelevant Backlog Items]] topics::[[Backlog Refinement]] Alternative | [[3.2b2 Rehashing Old Backlog Items Adds No Real Value]] -> Continuous backlog refinement is a better approach, but sometimes an episodic backlog review will be needed to do a deep cleaning or sorts. ![[Footer]]