Write Small Stories

Just as short iterations provide you more frequent opportunity for feedback, small stories—as in one-day stories—provide you more possibility to see your progress and adjust.

Consider creating small stories that are one day or less in duration. Stories that short help the team see its progress and learning. The product owner can see the team’s progress and provide feedback frequently. The shorter the story, the faster the throughput.

Here’s a tip for creating small stories: Write the story on a 3x5 index card. You might have a tool that you’re supposed to use to keep the requirements in. While you build your agile mindset and learn how to work as an agile team, use index cards.

On the front of the card, write down the story. On the back of the card, write down the acceptance criteria. If your story and the acceptance criteria do not fit on one index card, the story is too big. Remember, stories are a promise for a conversation. The card does not have to have absolutely everything on it.

Is it difficult to create small stories? Of course it is. It’s worth it. Think about a specific user and think about the flow of his or her work. See these books for guidance as to how to create better stories: User Stories Applied [Coh04], User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product [Pat14], and Fifty Quick Ideas to Improve Your User Stories [AE14].