Points: <n> Cause (pick one): □ Scope added after the sprint started □ Requirement was unclear when we started □ Blocked by a dependency □ Genuinely harder than anyone could know □ Unplanned production work consumed the time □ We simply took on more than our velocity supports Evidence: <one line> ``` Tally the causes across three sprints and your improvement priority stops being a matter of opinion. The four common misdiagnoses are listed in [Estimation and Story Points](https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/story-points-explained-what-they-measure-why-fibonacci-and-how-to-run-planning-p).1b:T618a,<hr /> <blockquote> Why this matters: the blank page is the real reason acceptance criteria go unwritten. Pre fill the structure and the work becomes filling in boxes. Load these as work item templates in <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/how-to-set-up-azure-devops-for-agile-delivery-work-items-fields-tags-queries-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Azure DevOps Setup</a> so a new item is created with the shape already there. </blockquote> <h2 id="epic">Epic</h2> Written as a business objective, per <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/epic-vs-feature-vs-user-story-vs-task-how-to-break-work-down-and-decide-which-is" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Work Breakdown Hierarchy</a>. <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># Epic: <business objective in plain language> **Why now:** <what changes for the business if we do this> **Who it serves:** <which users or segment> **Success looks like:** <the measurable outcome, if you can name one> **Features in scope** - <capability 1> - <capability 2> **Explicitly not in scope** - <things people will assume are included, named so they are not> **Open questions** - <question> | owner: <name> | needed by: <date> </code></pre> <h2 id="feature">Feature</h2> <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># Feature: <capability name a customer would recognise> **Parent Epic:** <link> **Owner:** <name> **What it lets a user do:** <one or two sentences> **Why it matters:** <the reason> **Stories** - <story 1> - <story 2> **Dependencies:** <other features, external services, data migrations> **Out of scope:** <named exclusions> </code></pre> <h2 id="user-story">User Story</h2> The one that matters most. Craft notes in <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/how-to-write-a-user-story-that-fits-in-one-sprint-invest-splitting-patterns-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Writing User Stories</a> and <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/how-to-write-acceptance-criteria-defining-expected-behaviour-before-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Acceptance Criteria</a>. <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># <short outcome title> As a <specific role> I want <capability> So that <benefit> ## Acceptance criteria 1. Given <state>, when <action>, then <observable result>. 2. Given <state>, when <action>, then <observable result>. 3. <rule or constraint stated as a checkable fact> 4. <error case> 5. <permission or boundary case> ## Out of scope - <thing that will come up at the demo, named now> ## Notes - <design link, constraint, the subtle case worth flagging> ## Open questions - <question> | owner: <name> </code></pre> <h2 id="task">Task</h2> <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># <verb + object, e.g. "Add stock check to invoice save"> Parent story: <link> Remaining work: <hours, if you track them> What this covers: <one line> Done when: <the specific technical outcome> </code></pre> Keep it to a day or less. If it is bigger, split it. <h2 id="bug">Bug</h2> <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># <what is wrong, from the user's point of view> **Severity:** critical / high / medium / low **Found in:** <environment, version> **Affects:** <feature, and roughly how many users> ## Steps to reproduce 1. 2. 3. **Expected:** <what should happen, quoting the acceptance criterion if there is one> **Actual:** <what happens> **Evidence:** <screenshot, log, request id> **Related story:** <link to the Story that introduced or owns this behaviour> </code></pre> That last line is what lets you later ask which features generate the most defects, which is how you prioritise coverage in <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/why-features-end-up-with-no-test-cases-and-how-to-make-that-structurally-impossi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Test Case Strategy</a>. <h2 id="spike">Spike</h2> <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># Spike: <question to answer> **Timebox:** <n days, hard stop> **Question:** <the single decision this must inform> **Output:** <a one page recommendation / a working throwaway prototype / a sizing> **Options to evaluate** - <option a> - <option b> **Decision criteria:** <cost, effort, risk, fit with existing system> </code></pre> A spike ends with a decision, not a feature. If it produces code, the code is throwaway unless explicitly decided otherwise. <h2 id="definition-of-ready-checklist">Definition of Ready checklist</h2> Adapt from <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/definition-of-ready-the-checklist-that-decides-whether-a-story-can-enter-a-sprin" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Definition of Ready</a>. Keep it to seven items. <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown">- [ ] Business reason is clear - [ ] Written as a small user or business outcome - [ ] Acceptance criteria written, including the main error cases - [ ] Dependencies identified - [ ] Design or mockup available if there is UI - [ ] Major unknowns investigated or spiked - [ ] Estimated, and fits comfortably in one sprint </code></pre> <h2 id="definition-of-done-checklist">Definition of Done checklist</h2> Adapt from <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/definition-of-done-how-to-stop-calling-work-finished-when-testing-is-still-pendi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Definition of Done</a>. Start with version 1 and grow it. <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown">- [ ] All acceptance criteria pass - [ ] Code reviewed by another person - [ ] Unit tests written and passing - [ ] Test cases written and linked to the story - [ ] Integration tests passing, CI green - [ ] Merged and deployed to test - [ ] No known critical or high severity defects - [ ] Documentation updated where behaviour changed </code></pre> <h2 id="test-case">Test case</h2> <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown">TC-<AREA>-<NNN> <what this proves, in one line> Precondition: <starting state, specific data> Steps: 1. <action> 2. <action> Expected: <observable result, specific enough to be unarguable> Traces to: Story #<id>, acceptance criterion <n> Type: manual / automated </code></pre> <h2 id="feature-one-pager">Feature one pager</h2> The maintenance record, explained in <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/why-nobody-remembers-how-a-feature-works-documenting-behaviour-edge-cases-and-ow" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Feature Inventory and Ownership</a>. <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown"># Feature: <name> **Owner:** <name> **Last reviewed:** <date> **Status:** live / deprecated ## What it does ## Why it exists ## Expected behaviour ## Edge cases we know about ## What it depends on ## How it is tested ## Known gaps ## Decisions worth remembering <date>: chose X over Y because Z. Do not undo without solving Z. </code></pre> <h2 id="sprint-goal">Sprint Goal</h2> <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown">Sprint <n> goal: <one sentence describing the single outcome> We will know we achieved it when: <the demonstrable thing> Not in this sprint: <the thing people will ask for anyway> </code></pre> Written before selecting items, per <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/the-sprint-cycle-explained-backlog-refinement-sprint-planning-daily-review-and-r" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sprint Planning and Refinement</a>. <h2 id="feedback-triage-card">Feedback triage card</h2> Keep this visible during the sprint. Full reasoning in <a href="https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/scope-creep-in-sprints-how-to-classify-stakeholder-feedback-instead-of-absorbing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Feedback and Scope Control</a>. <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown">Feedback received. Which is it? □ Defect → does not match agreed criteria → fix in this story □ Clarification → criteria were misread → correct in this story □ New scope → capability nobody agreed to → NEW backlog item □ Requirement change→ the business need itself changed → PO decides, deliberately □ Urgent production → customers affected now → take it, REMOVE equal work □ Nice idea → came out of the demo → backlog, prioritise later Only the first two belong inside the current story. </code></pre> <h2 id="retrospective-carry-over-analysis">Retrospective carry over analysis</h2> Instead of “why did we not finish”, ask this per unfinished item: <pre class="hljs code-block"><code class="language-markdown">Item: <title> Points: <n> Cause (pick one): □ Scope added after the sprint started □ Requirement was unclear when we started □ Blocked by a dependency □ Genuinely harder than anyone could know □ Unplanned production work consumed the time □ We simply took on more than our velocity supports Evidence: <one line> </code></pre> Tally the causes across three sprints and your improvement priority stops being a matter of opinion. 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spike."}],["$","meta","7",{"property":"og:url","content":"https://abhishekpatel.co/topics/spike"}],["$","meta","8",{"property":"og:image","content":"https://abhishekpatel.co/og.png"}],["$","meta","9",{"property":"og:type","content":"website"}],["$","meta","10",{"name":"twitter:card","content":"summary_large_image"}],["$","meta","11",{"name":"twitter:title","content":"spike"}],["$","meta","12",{"name":"twitter:description","content":"Notes and essays about spike."}],["$","meta","13",{"name":"twitter:image","content":"https://abhishekpatel.co/og.png"}],["$","link","14",{"rel":"icon","href":"/favicon.svg","type":"image/svg+xml"}],["$","link","15",{"rel":"apple-touch-icon","href":"/apple-icon"}],["$","$L18","16",{}]] 19:I[146773,["/_next/static/immutable/chunks/2rry8mu5z36mg.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/43xx0nciewcvo.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/1vdbc42b357x7.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3hyjmf0tezgsq.js"],"default"] 1a:T1e7f,--- > Why this matters: the blank page is the real reason acceptance criteria go unwritten. Pre fill the structure and the work becomes filling in boxes. Load these as work item templates in [Azure DevOps Setup](https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/how-to-set-up-azure-devops-for-agile-delivery-work-items-fields-tags-queries-and) so a new item is created with the shape already there. ## Epic Written as a business objective, per [Work Breakdown Hierarchy](https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/epic-vs-feature-vs-user-story-vs-task-how-to-break-work-down-and-decide-which-is). ```markdown # Epic: **Why now:** **Who it serves:** **Success looks like:** **Features in scope** - - **Explicitly not in scope** - **Open questions** - | owner: | needed by: ``` ## Feature ```markdown # Feature: **Parent Epic:** **Owner:** **What it lets a user do:** **Why it matters:** **Stories** - - **Dependencies:** **Out of scope:** ``` ## User Story The one that matters most. Craft notes in [Writing User Stories](https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/how-to-write-a-user-story-that-fits-in-one-sprint-invest-splitting-patterns-and) and [Acceptance Criteria](https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/how-to-write-acceptance-criteria-defining-expected-behaviour-before-development). ```markdown # As a I want So that ## Acceptance criteria 1. Given , when , then . 2. Given , when , then . 3. 4. 5. ## Out of scope - ## Notes - ## Open questions - | owner: ``` ## Task ```markdown # Parent story: Remaining work: What this covers: Done when: ``` Keep it to a day or less. If it is bigger, split it. ## Bug ```markdown # **Severity:** critical / high / medium / low **Found in:** **Affects:** ## Steps to reproduce 1. 2. 3. **Expected:** **Actual:** **Evidence:** **Related story:** ``` That last line is what lets you later ask which features generate the most defects, which is how you prioritise coverage in [Test Case Strategy](https://abhishekpatel.co/notes/why-features-end-up-with-no-test-cases-and-how-to-make-that-structurally-impossi). ## Spike ```markdown # Spike: **Timebox:** **Question:** **Output:** **Options to evaluate** -