Composing Work Items Effectively

by JEM

When Agile teams aim to create work items, sometimes it can get a bit confusing if the right roles are not focused on the right things.   For example,  discussions can jump to technical implementation too quickly and get into the weeds.  Or a requirement can be discussed before a Product Owner really understands the reason behind the ask.

The following diagram is a good rule of thumb to follow when discussing and composing work items with your team.   Keeping this focus will help keep meetings on track and result in much clearer requirements – all of which result in better sprint deliverables!

Role Focus Artifacts
  • Product Management
  • Product Owner
  • Stakeholders
  • Customers 
 The WHY – why does a customer need something new or improved?
  • Epics & Features
    • Business Needs
    • Use Cases
    • Usability Research
  • Product Owner
  • Engineering
 The WHAT – what should we build that provides value?
  • User Story
    • A releasable  increment of value (one Sprint)
  • Engineering
 The HOW – how will this be implemented?
  • Tasks
    • Technical Design
    • Implementation Notes
    • Code & Tests

In addition, don’t forget to read our blog post on writing effective user stories.