Story refinement
Story Refinement Checklist*
*Section 1: Preparation**
- Choose a date and time that works for all participants
- Block off a specific amount of time for the session
- Determine who needs to be present, including developers, product owners, and stakeholders
- Ensure key stakeholders are available and can contribute to the discussion
- Send out the user stories or backlog items to all participants at least a day before the session
- Ask participants to review the items and come prepared with any questions or suggestions
- Set up a whiteboard or prepare any necessary visual aids, such as sticky notes or charts
- Ensure all participants can easily see and interact with the visual aids
- Collect any customer feedback or requirements documents related to the user stories or backlog items
- Share this information with the team prior to the session
- Compile a list of questions that will help clarify the user stories or backlog items
- Consider potential areas of confusion or ambiguity and include questions to address those
- Clearly communicate the purpose of the story refinement session to all participants
- Explain the desired outcome and how it aligns with the overall project goals
- Determine what specific outcomes or deliverables will indicate a successful session
- Examples could include a refined user story, a prioritized backlog, or a shared understanding among participants
*Section 2: Review**
*Section 3: Clarification**
*Section 4: Splitting and Prioritizing**
- Break down the user story into smaller sub-tasks.
- Ensure each sub-task is independent and can be worked on separately.
- Consider the complexity and effort required for each sub-task.
- Assess the importance and impact of each user story on the overall project.
- Consider any dependencies between user stories and prioritize accordingly.
- Take into account the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
- Analyze the user story for any potential risks or obstacles.
- Consider technical limitations or constraints that may affect implementation.
- Identify any dependencies on external systems or components.
- Review the dependencies and priorities of the user stories.
- Identify the tasks that are necessary for the completion of other tasks.
- Consider the critical path and ensure its tasks are prioritized.
- Define specific milestones or checkpoints for task completion.
- Set deadlines for each task based on their priority and effort required.
- Ensure milestones and deadlines are realistic and achievable.
*Section 5: Acceptance Criteria**
- Create acceptance criteria that clearly state what the user story should accomplish.
- Ensure the criteria are concise and easy to understand.
- Avoid ambiguity or vagueness in the acceptance criteria.
- Identify all the functional requirements that need to be met for the user story.
- Include any non-functional requirements, such as performance or security, that are relevant to the user story.
- Make sure all requirements are addressed in the acceptance criteria.
- Discuss the acceptance criteria with the product owner to ensure they align with their expectations.
- Incorporate any feedback or suggestions from the product owner to improve the criteria.
- Ensure the product owner agrees with the final acceptance criteria.
*Section 6: Estimation**
- Estimate the effort required for the story in either story points or hours.
- Document the estimated effort in a consistent format.
- Analyze the complexity of the story by considering factors such as business rules, logic, data manipulation, and user interaction.
- Identify any dependencies on other stories, modules, or external systems.
- Consider the impact on the existing codebase and any potential conflicts or challenges.
- Identify any risks or uncertainties that could impact the effort required to complete the story.
- Evaluate the potential impact of these risks on the timeline and delivery of the story.
- Consider factors such as technical challenges, resource availability, and external dependencies.
- Break down the story into smaller tasks or sub-tasks.
- Estimate the effort required for each task or sub-task.
- Organize the tasks in a logical sequence.
- Create a timeline by assigning estimates to each task.
- Share the estimated effort with the product owner or project stakeholders.
- Explain the rationale behind the estimates and any assumptions made.
- Address any questions or concerns from the product owner.
- Regularly review and update the estimated effort if any changes or new information becomes available.
- Consider the impact of changes on the complexity, dependencies, risks, and timeline of the story.
- Communicate any changes in the estimated effort to the product owner.
*Section 7: Dependencies and Preparations**
- Review existing documentation and conduct research to identify any dependencies or pre-requisites for the user story.
- Consult with other team members or experts to validate and confirm any identified dependencies or pre-requisites.
- Schedule meetings or discussions with relevant teams or stakeholders to communicate and coordinate any required preparations or integrations.
- Share relevant information and gather input or feedback from other teams or stakeholders to ensure smooth preparations or integrations.
- Analyze the user story requirements to determine if any support systems or infrastructure is needed.
- Design and develop the necessary support systems or infrastructure based on the identified requirements.
- Assess the user story requirements and identify any additional resources that may be required for successful implementation.
- Collaborate with relevant teams or stakeholders to obtain the necessary resources for successful implementation.
- Estimate the time required for each task related to the user story.
- Arrange the tasks in a logical order and create a timeline for completion and delivery of the user story.
- Identify and document all the necessary steps to ensure the user story is ready for implementation.
- Include specific instructions, guidelines, or checklists to ensure the user story is properly prepared for implementation.
- Review the user story requirements and identify any external dependencies such as third-party services, hardware, or software.
- Communicate with relevant teams or stakeholders to ensure the availability and compatibility of the identified external dependencies.
- Analyze the user story requirements and create test scenarios that cover all the necessary functionalities.
- Generate or prepare the required test data to simulate real-world scenarios and ensure successful implementation.
- Discuss and validate any assumptions made about the user story with the relevant stakeholders.
- Seek feedback and confirmation from stakeholders to ensure that the assumptions align with their expectations and requirements.
*Section 8: Documentation**
*Section 9: Follow-Up**
- Create a document to track all changes made to the story
- Share the document with the team through a collaboration tool or email
- Ensure that all team members are aware of the changes and have access to the document
- Open the project management system and locate the story
- Change the status of the story to reflect any updates or changes
- Save the changes and verify that the status has been updated correctly
- Review the acceptance criteria listed for the story
- Verify that all the criteria have been met
- If any criteria are not met, make the necessary adjustments to the story before proceeding with testing
- Review any dependent issues or tasks related to the story
- Ensure that all of them have been resolved or completed
- If there are any unresolved issues or tasks, address them before proceeding with deployment
- Coordinate with all stakeholders to find a suitable time for the review session
- Send out meeting invitations and include the agenda for the session
- Ensure that all stakeholders attend the session and discuss any concerns or questions before finalizing the deployment
*Section 10: Completion**
- Open the project management tool
- Locate the user story or backlog item
- Mark it as refined or ready for development
- Compile a list of refined user stories
- Send an email to the development team and stakeholders
- Attach the list of refined user stories
- Open the supporting documentation and diagrams
- Make the necessary updates based on the refined user stories
- Save the changes
- Review the definition of done for the project
- Compare the user story to the definition of done
- Ensure all criteria are met
- Open the iteration or sprint schedule
- Locate the user story
- Assign it to a specific iteration or sprint
Use in Manifestly