Refinement meetings often devolve into strategic debates because the real issue isn't unclear requirements but a lack of prior product decisions.
When teams overload refinement with strategic "why" questions, developers are forced to make product decisions, leading to rework and inefficiency.
To improve clarity, teams must separate conversations into three distinct types: discovery (the why), refinement (the how), and delivery (the build).
Product discovery focuses on understanding the problem and user to generate insights that lead to product decisions, which are then translated into requirements.
User stories created after discovery have essential context, shifting refinement questions from broad strategic challenges to specific implementation details.
Effective teams practice three types of discovery: initial (before a project), continuous (during development), and ad hoc (for major changes).
The solution to chaotic refinements is to treat discovery as a continuous team capability that provides the necessary context for better decisions and products.
Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.