User Stories 🚀 (1/2)

Carlos Jiménez Muñoz
2 min readJan 24, 2024

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In the agile world, User Stories are the foundation of every sprint. Essentially, they are short and clear narratives that describe a functionality from the end user’s perspective. But, how do these stories fit into the scheme of epics and tasks? 🤔

  1. Epics, User Stories, and Tasks 🌍

Imagine our agile project as a tree. 🌳

  • The Epics are like the trunk: large blocks of work that provide the main support. They are broad, long-term objectives.
  • User Stories are the branches: smaller, manageable parts that emerge from the epics. They are specific, focused on user value, and have a limited scope.
  • Tasks are the leaves: even smaller and more detailed activities that make up a user story. They are the concrete steps to implement that story.

The tree really admits more classes, but in my opinion, this way of categorizing it is sufficiently balanced and flexible.

2. Criteria: Quality of User Stories đź’Ž

There is a criterion that seeks to maximize the value and efficiency of each user story, known as INVEST:

  • Independent (I): The story should be autonomous, avoiding co-dependencies that can cause delays and can be completed in any order.
  • Negotiable (N): It should allow discussions and adjustments between stakeholders and the development team.
  • Valuable (V): Each story must deliver value to the end user.
  • Estimable (E): The team should be able to make a reasonable effort estimate.
  • Small (S): Small enough to be completed in a sprint.
  • Testable (T): It should be possible to design tests that validate its functionality.

🎯 Conclusion:

User Stories are essential in agile methodology. By understanding their place within the context of epics and tasks, and adhering to the INVEST criteria, we ensure that each sprint brings us one step closer to our objectives, maintaining standards of quality and satisfaction.

Do you use User Stories in your projects? đź”˝

#AgileMethodology #UserStories #ProjectManagement #INVEST #AgileSprints #ProductDevelopment

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