Slides supporting a User Story workshop I used at Spotify

1. peter.antman@crisp.se

3. Draw a beautiful summer meadow with
blue and red flowers in green grass, some cows and birds under a
shining sun.
David Barnholdt

4. Draw a beautiful summer meadow with
 10 blue flowers with 5 petals each
 5 blue flowers with 6 petals each
 13 red flowers with 6 petals each
 2 cows with 3 black spots
1 cow with 5 black spots
 2 cows with 4 black spots
 2 birds to reside in the upper left corner
 3 birds in the middle
 one sun to the right with 5 sun beams
David Barnholdt

5. Open vs Closed requriements
Open
Draw a beautiful summer meadow with
blue and red flowers in green grass,
some cows and birds under a shining
sun.
Closed
Draw a beautiful summer meadow with
• 10 blue flowers with 5 petals each
• 5 blue flowers with 6 petals each
• 13 red flowers with 6 petals each
• 2 cows with 3 black spots
1 cow with 5 black spots
• 2 cows with 4 black spots
• 2 birds to reside in the upper left corner
• 3 birds in the middle
• one sun to the right with 5 sun beams
5 David Barnholdt

6. Open vs Closed?
David Barnholdt

7. Myth
If you write down the requirements the user gets
what he wants.
Hans Brattberg

8.  IEEE 830 Requirement Specification
– The product shall have a gas engine
– The product shall have four wheels
• The product should have rubber tire mounted to each wheel
– The product shall have a steering wheel
– The product shall have a steel body
Hans Brattberg

9.  As a User, I want to mow my lawn quick and easy
 As a User, I want to be comfortable while mowing my lawn
Hans Brattberg

10. How can a User Story look
10

11. User Story = User + Story
As a student,
I can find my grades online
so that I don’t have to wait until
the next day to know whether I
passed
As a <role>,
I want <goal>,
So that <reason>
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
Acronym courtesy of Bill Wake – www.xp123.com
It is a reminder to have a
conversation with your customer -
not a complete specification

12. User Story conversation
Start with a short title
Add concise description
As a [role]
I want to [do something
So that I can [reach a goal]
…
Create an acceptance criteria
Add anything else relevant from conversation
(notes, specifications, constraints, sketches)
Jeff Patton

13. How to demo / details / tests
13
As a User,
I can cancel a reservation
Flip side
* Verify that a premium member can cancel
the same day without a fee
* Verify that a non-premium member get
charged 10% for a same-day cancelation
* Verify that email confirmation is sent
* Verify that the hotel is notified of any
cancelation

14. Grooming EPICS  User Stories
Story Time
Session
Story Time
Session
Story Time
Session

15. Jeff Patton

16. 16

17. Jeff Patton

18. Jeff Patton

19. Jeff Patton

20. Purpose of breaking a story down
Business feedback
- Is this what the market wants?
User feedback
- Is this what the user wants?
Tech feedback
- Can we do this?
Solution feedback
- Do parts add up as a whole?
Product Increment –
Minimum Marketable
Product
Story Spike Backlog items
PO
”what”
”how”
Mattias Skarin

21. Maximize early learning
Grow knowledge Optimize value / time
Source: Alistair Cockburn
Minimize risks
• Technical
• Bussines
• Social
Mattias Skarin

22. 22
“incrementing” builds a bit at a time
Incrementing calls for
a fully formed idea.
And, doing it on time
requires dead accurate
estimation.
1 2 3 4 5
Jeff Patton

23. “iterating” builds a rough version,
validates it, then slowly builds up quality
Iterating allows you
to move from vague
idea to realization
1 2 3
4 5
23 Jeff Patton

24. Combining iterative and incremental
• Build iterative to minimize risk
• Build incremental to maximize ROI
• Repeat
24 Jeff Patton