| name | p4-plan-backlog-refinement |
| description | Guide backlog refinement sessions, story refinement, estimation, and prioritization in P4 Plan. Use when user mentions backlog, refinement, estimation, story points, or prioritization. |
Backlog refinement in P4 Plan
The Product Backlog is a dedicated section containing user stories and tasks not yet scheduled into sprints.
Key Concepts
- User Story: High-level feature/epic in the backlog. Can have children (sub-stories or tasks).
- Backlog Item (BacklogTask): Actionable work task. Leaf-level work.
- Backlog priority: Relative ordering. Values: veryHigh, high, medium, low, veryLow, none
- Points: Story point estimates (numeric).
- Estimated days: Day-based estimates (alternative to points).
Tool Mapping
| User Intent | Tool | Key Parameters |
|---|
| Find backlog items | search_tasks | findQuery, projectId |
| Create a backlog item | create_item | type: "backlog_task", projectId, name |
| Create a sub-task | create_item | type: "backlog_task", projectId, name, parentItemId |
| Insert after an item | create_item | type: "backlog_task", projectId, name, previousItemId |
| Set priority | update_item | itemId, priority |
| Estimate in points | update_item | itemId, points |
| Estimate in days | update_item | itemId, estimatedDays |
| Get full item details | get_tasks | taskIds |
| Add acceptance criteria | post_comment | taskId, text |
| Move item to sprint | commit_to_sprint | taskId, sprintId |
Committed Items
Items with a committedToProjectID are already committed to a sprint. Before modifying, moving, or breaking down committed items, always confirm with the user first. When creating sub-tasks under a committed parent (parentItemId), call get_tasks on the parent first — if it has committedToProjectID, ask the user whether the sub-items should be created in the sprint or in the backlog.
Related Skills