Developing Agile Requirements and User Stories in the Federal Environment

User stories help to define the functions a business system must provide and facilitate defining requirements on an Agile project. How do you know what your end user wants or needs? How can you define these needs in terms that are easy to understand and build to? You will learn the techniques for developing a user story via story cards, personas, and role cards through hands-on exercises and applications. You will practice other Agile approaches, such as release planning and backlog grooming, which ensures that the work being done is the work that is needed.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the Scrum approach to Agile project management
• Explain how effective user stories contribute to project deliverables
• Compare user stories and epics in the production of project outcomes
• Create, prioritize, and track user stories for a federal project
• Explain the role of user stories in grooming the Product Backlog and determining completion and acceptance of project deliverables

Course Topics

Introduction to Scrum for User Story Writers

• Scrum Framework
• Scrum Roles for Effective User Stories
• Product Vision
• Product Backlog Importance
• Product Backlog Grooming
• Use of Releases
• Exercise: Who or What Does This?

User Stories for Agile Requirements Development

• User Stories in Place of Traditional Project Requirements
• Supporting Acceptable Project Deliverables
• Design Flow of User Stories

User Stories for Releases and Sprints

• Comparison between Epics and User Stories
• Refine Epics into Sprint-Sized User Stories
• Calculating Business and Technical Values

User Story Creation, Prioritization, and Tracking

• Creating User Stories for a Federal Project
• Prioritizing User Stories in the Backlog
• Tracking the Life Cycle of a User Story

User Story Execution, Acceptance, and Rework

• Grooming the Product Backlog
• Definitions of Done and Acceptance Criteria
• Impact of Unacceptable or Incomplete Work