# Check my backlog tickets for gaps before refinement

A ticket-by-ticket readiness review that flags missing criteria, hidden dependencies, and stories too big to estimate.

- Topic: Product & UX Design
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/check-my-backlog-tickets-for-gaps-before-refinement

## Prompt

```text
Review these backlog tickets and tell me which are ready for refinement and what each one is missing.

**Tickets:** [PASTE TITLES, DESCRIPTIONS, AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA]
**Our definition of ready:** [PASTE - or "use a standard one"]
**Team context:** [STACK, KNOWN CONSTRAINTS, SPRINT LENGTH]

Check each ticket for:
- A clear user and the value or problem, not just a task.
- Testable acceptance criteria, including error and edge cases.
- Ambiguous words that will cause debate ("fast", "intuitive", "support", "handle").
- Size: likely too big for one sprint, or several stories bundled together.
- Dependencies on other teams, designs, data, or decisions not yet made.
- Missing design links, analytics needs, or permission rules.
- Duplicates or overlap with other tickets in the list.

Return:
1. A table: Ticket | Ready? (yes / almost / no) | Gaps | Fix.
2. Rewritten acceptance criteria for the tickets marked "almost".
3. Questions I need to answer before the session, grouped by who can answer them (me, design, engineering, stakeholder).
4. A suggested order for the refinement agenda.

Do not fill gaps with invented requirements; mark them [DECIDE] or [CONFIRM].
```

## What to fill in

- PASTE TITLES, DESCRIPTIONS, AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
- PASTE - or "use a standard one"
- STACK, KNOWN CONSTRAINTS, SPRINT LENGTH
- DECIDE
- CONFIRM

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.