Learn To Split Your User Stories

Summary

In this informative video, Jeff Watts shares his top 10 tips for effectively splitting user stories in agile development. He emphasizes the importance of believing in the possibility of breaking stories into smaller, manageable chunks and avoiding common pitfalls like extending sprints or splitting by life cycle stages. His tips, cleverly forming the acronym 'possibles', guide viewers on techniques such as focusing on personas, considering different operations, simplifying, and even spiking to de-risk features. The video is a valuable resource for agile teams looking to deliver value incrementally and efficiently.

Takeaways

• 😀 User stories are not mandatory for agile teams; they are a technique, not a requirement.
• 🚫 Avoid extending sprints to fit a user story; this only increases the overall cycle time.
• 🔄 Refrain from splitting a user story into different life cycle stages across multiple sprints.
• 💡 Believe in the possibility of breaking down user stories into smaller, manageable chunks.
• 👤 Utilize personas to understand user motivations and break stories into smaller pieces that cater to specific user types.
• 🔧 Split user stories by considering different operational interactions, such as CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete).
• 🔑 Focus on the simplest functionality that could possibly work to avoid overcomplicating solutions.
• 🔄 Challenge the logical sequence of completing functionality to deliver value sooner and reduce dependencies.
• 📝 Start with the easiest way to gather input from users, even if it's a simple text field without validation.
• 📈 Prioritize business rules and focus on the most important ones first, incrementally adding complexity.
• 🔄 Consider different levels of non-functional requirements, such as security or performance, to break down stories into smaller increments.
• 🛠 Evaluate the least effort approach to solving the problem to deliver value more quickly.
• 🔬 Use spikes to explore, prototype, and research to reduce uncertainty and better understand the user story.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Jeff Watts' video?

The main topic of Jeff Watts' video is about splitting user stories in agile development, providing tips on how to break them down into smaller, manageable chunks.

Why does Jeff Watts suggest that not everything on the backlog needs to be a user story?

Jeff Watts suggests that not everything on the backlog needs to be a user story because teams should not use them just out of obligation. They should choose the right technique that brings value to their specific project and team dynamics.

What are the two common traps that teams often fall into when splitting user stories?

The two common traps are extending the sprint to fit a large user story and splitting a user story by the stages of the life cycle, such as doing the design in one sprint and testing in another, which goes against the principles of Scrum and increases the overall cycle time.

What does Jeff Watts mean by 'believe that it's possible to break down into smaller chunks'?

It means having the mindset that user stories can always be further divided into smaller, more manageable parts. This belief opens up the possibility of applying techniques more effectively to achieve smaller increments of valuable delivery.

What role do personas play in splitting user stories?

Personas represent different types of users and their motivations. By focusing on one persona at a time, teams can break down user stories into smaller parts that specifically satisfy the needs of that user type before moving on to others.

Can you explain the term 'operations' as used in the context of splitting user stories?

In the context of user stories, 'operations' refers to the different ways users can interact with a feature, such as creating, reading, updating, and deleting (CRUD). Splitting user stories along these operational lines can result in smaller, more focused stories.

Why is focusing on the simplest thing that could possibly work important?

Focusing on the simplest thing that could possibly work is important because it helps avoid over-complicating solutions and allows teams to deliver value faster. It also adheres to the agile principle of favoring working software over comprehensive documentation.

What does Jeff Watts suggest regarding the sequence of completing functionality?

Jeff Watts suggests that teams should challenge the logical order of completing functionality. By doing so, they can remove dependencies, reduce the size of the overall user story, and potentially deliver value sooner.

How can simplifying the way of gathering input from users help in splitting user stories?

Simplifying the input process, such as starting with a basic free-form text field, allows teams to get a minimal viable product out quickly. This approach can help in breaking down user stories into smaller, incremental parts that provide immediate value.

What is the significance of focusing on the most important or simplest business rules first?

Focusing on the most important or simplest business rules first allows teams to realize value incrementally and iteratively. It helps in breaking down complex user stories into smaller, more manageable tasks that can be tackled one at a time.

Why is it beneficial to consider different levels of non-functional requirements when splitting user stories?

Considering different levels of non-functional requirements, such as security or performance, allows teams to strip back the initial scope of a user story. This can result in smaller increments of functionality that can be developed and delivered more quickly.

What does Jeff Watts mean by 'effort' in the context of splitting user stories?

In this context, 'effort' refers to the amount of work required to solve a problem or develop a feature. By choosing the least effort approach, teams can deliver value more quickly and efficiently, which aligns with the agile principle of simplicity.

Can you describe what a 'spike' is in the context of agile development?

A 'spike' is a time-boxed, focused effort to explore a certain aspect of a user story, reduce uncertainty, and gain knowledge. It involves activities like research, prototyping, and experimentation, which help in better understanding the problem and its solution.

What is the significance of the acronym 'possibles' in Jeff Watts' tips?

The acronym 'possibles' is a mnemonic device that Jeff Watts uses to remember and convey his top 10 tips for splitting user stories. Each letter of the word corresponds to a different tip, making it easier to recall and apply these strategies.