Lifecycle of a User Story Mike Hall Three

Lifecycle of a User Story Mike Hall Three Beacons mike@threebeacons. com 214. 783. 3936 www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 1 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Lifecycles Conception www. synerzip. com Birth Growth Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 Maturity End of Life 2 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Conception www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 3 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Conception How? • Collaborative discussions • Project vision, goals • Name* the major usage scenarios requiring stimulus from user When? • Certainly in initial planning* • During customer conversations • When discussing other stories • Any time in the project lifecycle • Breaking down “epics” www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 4 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Epics, Features, and Stories STORY 3 STORY 2 FEATURE 1 STORY 1 EPIC FEATURE 2 STORY 1 STORY 6 Major product capability STORY 5 FEATURE 3 STORY 4 STORY 3 Groupings of functionality www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 STORY 2 STORY 1 Specific usage scenarios 5 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Example: Location Services EPIC STORIES FEATURES Turn-by-Turn Routing Location Services Favorite Destinations Delete Trip Computer View Previous Reset Trip Save Trip Stop Trip Start Trip* www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 6 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Birth www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 7 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Birth • When written • Note card, document, tool Reminders • Purposely high-level • Captures “essence” of requirement • 3 parts - Name - Description - Acceptance criteria • Highest priority stories – quick kickoff www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 8 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Syntax Name As a <WHO>, I want <WHAT>, So that <WHY>. When I <ACTION>, I expect <RESULT>. Name and Description www. synerzip. com Acceptance Criteria Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 9 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Example: Start Trip user story Start Trip When I select the Start Trip button, I expect to see a new Trip Computer screen. As a Driver, I want to start my trip, So that I can begin tracking my time and distance. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see the Distance field changing as I drive. I also expect to see the Drive Time field changing in 1 -second increments. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see my average speed. Etc. www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 10 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Growth www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 11 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Growth “They grow up so fast!” • Some user stories follow a steady growth pattern • Some are asked to “grow up quickly” • Some are fine never growing up www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 12 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Product Backlog Scrum artifact: • All project related work items • Includes user story names Growth factors: • Priority order 1. . n • Reprioritized throughout project • Refined, broken down • Estimated • Clarified thru conversations www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 13 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

The Three Amigos DEVELOPERS TESTERS PO/BA • Collaborative discussions of the user story with developers, testers, and PO/BA. • “Discover” the details of the requirement www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 14 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Clarifying Conversations Growth factors: • Collaborative discussions help to clarify and “firm up” the requirements • Spur the growth of the highest priority stories* • Decisions – immediate and actions for others • Acceptance criteria – form of TDD • Adjust the user story based on consensus • Tacit knowledge within team grows • XP “whole team” concept www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 15 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Example: Start Trip clarifications Start Trip When I select the Start Trip button, I expect to see a new Trip Computer screen. As a Driver, I want to start my trip, So that I can begin tracking my time and distance in order to accurately fill out my expense report. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see the Distance field changing as I drive. I also expect to see the Drive Time field changing in 1 -second increments. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see my average speed. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see buttons for Stop, Save, and Reset. www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 16 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Estimate Growth factors: • Better understand the size of effort of the user story • Can indicate if the story needs to be broken down further • Useful during sprint planning • Useful during release planning • Useful for prioritization www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 17 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Research Spike Growth factors: • Learning activity to reduce risk • Research, prototypes, design, etc. • Time-constrained and exploratory • Knowledge share of findings • Can result in new user stories • Can result in changes to existing stories • “Growth spurt” www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 18 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Sprint Backlog Growth factors: Stor y • Migration from product backlog into sprint backlog - ready for Stor y implementation! • Decomposed into Tasks • Task estimates • Focus on “how” • Clarity on “what” and “how” www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 19 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Example: Start Trip tasks Design screen layout Save starting GPS position Calculate distance Set trip timer Set drive timer Design trip DB record www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 Etc. 20 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Maturity www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 21 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Maturity • Stories “mature” as they are implemented • Tasks are implemented • New tasks are added • Unnecessary tasks are removed • Task estimates adjusted • Integration is required! • High levels of collaboration • User story is “fine tuned” and matured • Done? www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 22 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Definition of Done Growth factors: • Morph user story to adhere to Do. D • QA opinion/approval • PO opinion/approval • Collective pursuit of defect-free software www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 23 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Example: Start Trip maturation When I select the Start Trip button, I expect to see a new Trip Computer screen. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see the Distance field changing as I drive. I also expect to see the Drive Time field changing in 1 -second increments. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see the Distance field changing as I drive. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see my average speed. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see buttons for Stop, Save, and Reset. QA asks the question, “Does Drive Time start immediately when I select the Start Trip button, or does it wait until I actually start driving? ” Ooops! www. synerzip. com When I begin driving, I expect to see the Drive Time field changing in 1 -second increments. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see my average speed. When I view the Trip Computer screen, I expect to see buttons for Stop, Save, and Reset. Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 24 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Demonstration Growth factors: • Feedback is golden • Updated user stories • New user stories • Reprioritization in backlog • Thumbs up or thumbs down • Continued maturation towards “doneness” www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 25 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Deployment Growth factors: • End user feedback • Field reports/bugs • Satisfaction surveys • User story updates • Possible re-deploy • Continued maturation www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 26 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

End of Life www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 27 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

End of Life • When story is determined to no longer be needed - Removed from backlogs - If already developed, source code is removed • When product/functionality is decommissioned from the market • When project is cancelled • Only memories remain (hopefully good) • No need to mourn www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 28 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Conclusion www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 29 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Conclusion User stories follow a lifecycle analogous to human life, from conception, to birth, to growth, to maturity, and finally to end-of-life. Thinking of user stories throughout these lifecycle phases can help you achieve a more in-depth understanding of the technique. www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 30 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

Three Beacons Agile Training Scrum team training Intro to Agile User Stories Extreme Programming Agile Consulting Onsite Skype-based www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 31 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

THE END Mike Hall Three Beacons mike@threebeacons. com 214. 783. 3936 www. synerzip. com Lifecycle of a User Story Webinar Series 2015 32 © Three Beacons LLC, 2015

www. synerzip. com Hemant Elhence hemant@synerzip. com 469. 374. 0500 Confidential 84 33 • March 17, 2015

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