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Know and Learn Derivation of Stories

Know and Learn Derivation of Stories

Created by Hokans, Becca, last modified on May 01, 2019

When writing user stories for the first time, it can be daunting to determine where to start. One way is to use Ideation techniques to catalog all the things you know and the things you need to learn and begin with that information to form user stories and spikes.

This exercise is geared toward a team that has had Agile training and understands the benefit of user stories. The objective is to guide the team toward building a backlog of stories and spikes to refine later. During this discussion, have a BA begin capturing the stories and conversation around them. These notes kickstart the user story, spike, and backlog development.

This exercise can be done physically in a conference room, or virtually using Skype Meeting.

Work in batches when defining the Know and Learn items. Group them into themes or some other category and discuss each batch of ideas. Repeat the exercise as many times as needed to cover all the categories. Capture the conversations in JIRA as the beginning of your stories.

Physical Whiteboard:

Divide the board in half, writing "Know" at the top of the left half and "Learn" at the top of the right half. Pass out Post-it notes and Sharpies to the team and ask them to document the types of things that they know they need to do and the items that they need to derive or discover. Give 10-15 minutes to capture this information in their silent brainstorming; if the team collectively winds down before time is up, go ahead and begin synthesizing the feedback. You may do multiple rounds of the exercise to write your stories.

Have the team place their Post-Its on the board:

On the Know half, place those items that address the activities to complete. These may be development items, testing needs, non-functional requirements, or anything that attempts to define the work. These items may become user stories and define what will be delivered.

On the Learn half, place those items that need to be researched or proven. These may be metrics related, KPI related, prototyping, or anything that attempts to research or analyze the work. These items may become Spikes and contribute to delivery.

Once Post-its are on the board, perform an affinity mapping to uncover themes in the information captured, then talk through each theme with the team. Capture the conversations to start user stories and spikes based on the items covered.

Virtual Whiteboard:

In Skype, bring up the Whiteboard function. Divide it in half as described above and create your Know and Learn sections. Give the team 10-15 minutes to add their input on the whiteboard by submitting text boxes on the whiteboard, then group like items together for discussion. Synthesize the information as described for Physical Whiteboard and capture the information to start user stories and spikes.

Derive User Stories and Spikes

Regardless of the method used to gather data, after you have your feedback organized on the board, initiate a discussion around each group of items and determine whether you have something tangible to accomplish that you can document into a user story, or items that are less tangible that you can document as a spike.

For example, you may have a Post-it for reporting capability, and another note for capturing metrics. Both of these are things you know that may become user stories for delivery. Assuming these do become user stories, you'll need to learn what metrics to capture and what metrics to report. You may write at least two user stories for reporting and capturing, and two Spikes to analyze and derive the data for those stories.

Consider Vertical Slicing when discussing your potential stories. This is the concept of driving through system layers in each story instead of focusing across layers one component at a time. There is a Vertical Slicing Clinic that explains how Vertical Slicing concepts apply to user stories.

Capture user stories continuously as you discuss the Know and Learn feedback. consider the JIRA record the place to capture any questions, comments, and useful information that will contribute to the refinement of the story. After the exercise, schedule regular refinement sessions to elaborate on the stories and meet your Definition of Ready.