A format for expressing "desired business value"
(a.k.a, features, requirements)
Where are they used?
Represent product backlog items and/or sprint backlog items in
Scrum
Who is the audience?
"Business" people
"Technical" people
What are the components?
Card
Conversation
Confirmation
Cards
Template:
Title
The class of users (i.e., the role of users)
What the users want (i.e., the goal)
Why the users want the goal (i.e., the benefit)
Format:
The title appears at the top of the card
The story is written in paragraph form (i.e.,
As a role I want to goal
so that benefit)
Purpose:
A "placeholder for"/"promise to conduct" more detailed
conversations
Conversation
Purpose:
Expose the details of a requirement
Participants:
Development team
Product owner (from Scrum)
Stakeholders
Purported Benefits:
Conversations are a richer form of exchange
Documentation:
Conversations may be supplemented with
documents
Confirmation
Defined:
Conditions of satisfaction (i.e., acceptance criteria that
clarify the desired behavior)
Uses:
Development Team - better understand what to build and test
Product Owner - validation
Form/Format:
Usually a checklist on the back of the card
Usually textual descriptions that describe what the
product did during the Sprint Review (sometimes in the
"As a stakeholder, when I action then
the system criterion" format)
Must be atomic
Must not use vague/ambiguous/subjective language that
could be subject to debate
Appropriate Level of Detail/Abstraction
Epics:
Might span one or more releases (over many months)
(Sprintable/Implementable) Stories:
Small enough to fit into a sprint
From Stories to Tasks
Stories:
Are requirements of the product (i.e., the product must
do...)
Tasks:
Are actions to be completed (typically in a few hours or less)
by the team (i.e., a person
must do...) in order to realize a story
Tasks vs. Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance Criteria:
Are (generally) being written for, and will be confirmed by, the
stakeholders in the story
Tasks:
Are being written for team members (i.e., people with
technical expertise)
Properties of Good Stories - INVEST
Independent:
Dependencies can't be eliminated (and related stories are
sometimes called themes) but should be minimized
so that stories can be prioritized
Negotiable:
Must understand that stories are not "set in stone"
Valuable:
From the product owner's (i.e., business) perspective
Properties of Good Stories - INVEST (cont.)
Estimatable:
By the team (that will design, build and test them)