The Art of Agile Development, 2nd Edition

Stories

AUDIENCE

Whole Team

We plan our work in small, customer-centric pieces.

Stories may be the most misunderstood idea in all of Agile. They’re not requirements. They’re not use cases. They’re not even narratives. They’re much simpler than that.

Stories are for planning. They’re the playing pieces of the planning game. That’s it! Alistair Cockburn calls them “promissory notes for future conversation.” Each story is a reminder to talk about something the team needs to do. They’re written on index cards, or the virtual equivalent, so you can pick them up, move them around, and talk about how they fit into your plan.

Because stories are just a reminder to have a conversation, they don’t need to be detailed. In fact, detailed stories are a sign that people are missing the point. You’re supposed to have a whole team, a team room, and talk together regularly. The story is the reminder. A way of sparking conversations about the details.

Although stories are supposed to be brief, it’s okay to add additional notes when it’s helpful. If there’s something important you want to remember, or a technical detail that you need keep track of, go ahead and jot it down. Just don’t feel obligated to add more detail. The card isn’t meant to be a requirements document. Just a reminder.

WRITERS’ WORKSHOP

“We need training in how to write better stories,” Rafaella moans. “I’m sick of our team building the wrong things.”

You’re not so sure. “But aren’t stories just supposed to be a reminder to have ...