Breaking Down User Stories – some resources

This is a much-requested topic.

Here are some resources.  I will try to add comments on all of them.  They each give you a different angle, a different picture.  At bottom a few of my tips.

Bill is a smart guy, and you can talk to him.  His list, to me, is rather abstract. I suggest you take his list, and start to make examples related to each category, based on your domain, your kind of work.  The Parent and maybe 5-6 children.

Two wins here. You also get a reference to Richard Lawrence’s article: https://www.humanizingwork.com/the-humanizing-work-guide-to-splitting-user-stories/

 

My Tips

  • Goethe: “Everything’s impossible until it becomes easy.”  That is, it is impossible if you have no idea what you’re doing. Then, if you practice, practice, practice, you can become a lot better quickly.
  • Find an expert nearby.  Maybe in your company, or in your city.  Ask for help from the story-splitting expert.
  • Stories represent both value and effort.  Or benefit and cost.
  • Everyone can help; the whole team and maybe others. (This was basically Mike Cohn’s first suggestion.)
  • Later, the question is not “can I break down this story?”.  The question becomes, what is the best what to break down this story to release the value for the least effort.  The 80-20 idea.

 

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