How do you help in picking up the good user stories for the team members?
One of the tasks of a Scrum Master is to assist the team in bringing up the backlog for a sprint that has already been prioritized and pulling items that have been placed at the top (sorted as per the priority). Once the team has identified items from the pile of requirements that can provide value, the Scrum Master can assist them (Product Owner + Development Team) in converting them into good user stories (if it is not already).
A good user story comprises a description as well as set acceptance criteria. It should be a piece that can be completed in a sprint and has the fewest dependencies possible. Within the sprint’s constraints, the team should be able to build and test while also delivering estimations. In a nutshell, the INVEST principle is followed by good user stories.
- Independent – Reduced dependencies
- Negotiable – Describes the functionality, can be negotiated between the Team and PO
- Valuable – Provides value to the customer
- Estimable – Too big or too vague = not estimable
- Small – Can be done in a Sprint by the team
- Testable – Good acceptance criteria
During backlog refinement or sprint preparation, the scrum master can assist the team in producing good user stories so that they can be picked up for the future
