User Stories - Tips i've picked up along the way

I've been working closely with scrum teams for the last two years, and this presentation mentions some of things myself and the teams have learned in respect to what makes a good User Story. It was delivered as part of an interactive coaching session I gave to BA's who were used to a more traditional method of delivery and about to be embedded within scrum teams.

Transcript

1. User Stories Tips I’ve picked up along the way
2. A promise of a conversation A User Story is ….
3. It’s a Team Effort (Don’t chuck them over the wall) Reduce misunderstandings Arrive at a solution faster Better solutions
4. –Albert Einstein “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
5. Story creation time out Where do you get your stories from? How do you mature them?
6. Use the correct persona (Avoid generic ones) Know your users Minimise pet features Helps you focus Useful for splitting stories
7. Identify the problem (Don’t define the solution) Ask the right questions Meet sponsor expectations Measurable behaviour
8. Changes to existing service (Use the “Instead of … I want” Easier to assess size of change Helps with splitting
9. Keep them small (But still have value) Learn as you go Better control of costs Can they stand alone?
10. Some splitting guidelines Early delivery of value Simplify the user interaction Narrow your user base Do it as a team! (It’s delicate surgery)
11. Story content time out What style do you use ? Lets work through some examples!