Right sizing stories: the subtle art of decomposition.

Getting story sizes right is a key indicator of project success.  Since sizing stories happens at the beginning of the work stream, getting decomposition wrong has ramifications throughout the process.

Too much decomposition risks loosing track of the intended value stream.  Too little decomposition brings ambiguity into work, and leaves things more at risk of getting blocked, going in the wrong direction, being subject to misaligned concurrent activities, etc, resulting in greater uncertainty about deliverables, and anxiety for stakeholders.

Spending a little extra time to right size stores goes a long way to acheiving predicable outcomes. This session will walk through what's at stake, and offer some practical techniques to approach the problem.

What we'll cover:

• What get's lost when inappropriate sized stories make it into work.
• Qualitative vs quantitative evaluation of stories.
• Understanding story decomposition as qualitative estimation
• Using the INVEST criteria for story sizing.
• A look story sizing from the perspective of the #NoEstimation movement.
• The implications of Horizontal vs Vertical decomposition strategies.
• Thin slicing for stories vs thin slicing a product roadmap.
• Flowchart approach to story sizing

A key take away is a practical strategy for getting better at story decomposition.