How Thin is Thin? A Practical User Story Workshop
Most of us have heard the mantra, "Slice your User Stories as thin as possible!" In my travels as a coach since the early 2000's, however, I've rarely seen stories that truly are thin. What are these rare creatures? Why don't I see more of them? Having good User Stories is crucial to the success of teams using them as the means for determining what needs to be built to fulfill a customer's need. Having thinly sliced stories is even more important!
This workshop provides a level set on what stories are and explores why slicing stories very thin is important, what benefits thin slicing provides, and how to do it. Through a combination of examples and practical application in the workshop, you'll leave with slicing techniques that you can apply at your next planning session.
Outline/Structure of the Workshop/Game
- Introduction - 5 minutes
- Quick Review of User Stories - 10 minutes
- Instructor-led Example of Story Splitting - 20 minutes
- Group Exercise with Story Splitting 30 minutes
- Group Exercise Review - 15 minutes
- Questions - 10 minutes
Learning Outcome
You will leave this workshop with the tools to improve your ability to split stories, even ones that you previously thought couldn't be split! This will provide more granularity to your team's work, improving flow and avoiding blockages.
Target Audience
Product Owners, Product Managers, Business Analysts, ScrumMasters, Developers, QA People
Prerequisites for Attendees
None, although some experience with User Stories would be helpful.
Links
- Dave Rooney's Blog - Practical Agility
- GOAT 2015 Sessions:
- Agile and Beyond 2015 and GOAT 2014: Effective Software Delivery - Agility Without the Dogma
