1.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Seb Rose
User stories:
from good intentions to
bad advice

2.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Agenda
Good intentions
Examples:
•Template
•Acronym
•Technique
Bad outcomes
Q & A

3.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“Experts” have good intentions

4.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“Experts” have good intentions
Do we need experts?

5.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“Experts” have good intentions
Do we need experts?
Which experts do we trust?

6.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“Experts” have good intentions
Do we need experts?
Which experts do we trust?
How do we want expertise delivered?

7.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
As a <role>
I want <goal/desire>
So that <benefit>
Template - Connextra

8.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Placeholder for a conversation

9.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Discussion

10.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Discussion
What’s the connection between user
stories and the Connextra template?

11.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Discussion
What’s the connection between user
stories and the Connextra template?

12.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Discussion
What’s the connection between user
stories and the Connextra template?
What challenges have you
experienced using the Connextra
template?

13.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“That’s not a real user story …”

14.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“That’s not a real user story …”
Too technical

15.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“That’s not a real user story …”
Too technical
Not shippable

16.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
“That’s not a real user story …”
Too technical
Not shippable
Wrong format

17.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Confetti party

18.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Confetti party

19.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Confetti party
User stories are
NOT
requirements

20.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Confetti party
User stories are
NOT
requirementsUser stories areEPHEMERAL

21.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
This template has
let us forget why
user stories were
invented

22.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Acronym

23.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Acronym

24.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
I N V E S T
Acronym

25.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimatable
Small
Testable
I
N
V
E
S
T
Discussion

26.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimatable
Small
Testable
I
N
V
E
S
T
Discussion

27.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Interpretation
Independent
Valuable
and
Let’s try to define

28.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
IndependentI
N
V
E
S
T

29.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Independent
Dependent

30.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Valuable
I
N
V
E
S
T

31.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
What is value?

32.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Minimum marketable feature (MMF)?
What is value?

33.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Minimum marketable feature (MMF)?
What is value?
Potentially shippable increment?

34.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Minimum marketable feature (MMF)?
What is value?
Potentially shippable increment?
Demonstrable functionality?

35.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Minimum marketable feature (MMF)?
What is value?
Potentially shippable increment?
Demonstrable functionality?
How might these interact with
“Small”???

36.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Value is …

37.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
anything that:
Value is …

38.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
anything that:
Value is …
- increases knowledge

39.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
anything that:
Value is …
- increases knowledge
- decreases risk

40.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
anything that:
Value is …
- increases knowledge
- decreases risk
- generates useful feedback

41.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
This acronym
leaves plenty of
room for
misinterpretation

42.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Technique -
story points

43.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
- Have no units
- Are relative
- Are team specific
- Estimated by people doing the work
Story points - refresher

44.
@sebrose http://
Story points are relative

45.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com

46.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
120 cm
40 cm60 cm
100 cm
70 cm

47.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
... these studies which have for a few years now
given rise to the claim that "research shows that
people are better at relative than absolute
estimation" do not in fact seem to square with
that claim.
http://guide.agilealliance.org/guide/relative.html

48.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
... these studies which have for a few years now
given rise to the claim that "research shows that
people are better at relative than absolute
estimation" do not in fact seem to square with
that claim.
This doesn't entail that relative estimation doesn't
work - only that it is not proven.
http://guide.agilealliance.org/guide/relative.html

49.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com

50.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
12 cm
4 cm
6 cm
10 cm
7 cm

51.
@sebrose http://
Is it small,
or just far away?

52.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
This technique
continues to cause
massive
dysfunction

53.
@sebrose http://smartbear.comhttps://ronjeffries.com/articles/019-01ff/story-points/Index.html
Story points - apology

54.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
I certainly deplore their misuse;
I think using them to predict “when we’ll be
done” is at best a weak idea;
I think tracking how actuals compare with
estimates is at best wasteful;
I think comparing teams on quality of
estimates or velocity is harmful.
Ron Jeffries
https://ronjeffries.com/articles/019-01ff/story-points/Index.html
Story points - apology

55.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
https://estimation.lunarlogic.io/assets/cards-range-8fc41b2e3fd282125f4602a712020204.png
https://estimation.lunarlogic.io/

56.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Bad outcomes

57.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Bad outcomes
That doesn’t work here!

58.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
No silver bullet
Not only are there no silver bullets
now in view, the very nature of
software makes it unlikely that there
will be any.
Frederick P. Brooks
"No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering,"
Computer, Vol. 20, No. 4 (April 1987) pp. 10-19

59.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Examples revisited

60.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Examples revisited

61.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Examples revisited

62.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Examples revisited

63.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Patterns can help us filter
•Name
•Problem
•Context
•Forces
•Solution
•Resulting Context
•Known Uses
•Related Patterns
•http://wiki.c2.com/?CanonicalForm

64.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Patterns can help us filter
•Name
•Problem
•Context
•Forces
•Solution
•Resulting Context
•Known Uses
•Related Patterns
•http://wiki.c2.com/?CanonicalForm
•Context
•Forces

65.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Takeaways

66.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Takeaways
Always consider
your context

67.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Takeaways
Concrete advice
is often
ambiguousAlways consider
your context

68.
@sebrose http://smartbear.com
Takeaways
Concrete advice
is often
ambiguousAlways consider
your context
Bad outcomes
don’t mean the
advice was bad

69.
Seb Rose
Twitter: @sebrose
Blog: http:/cucumber.io/blog
E-mail: seb@smartbear.com http://bddbooks.com