User Story Splitting

Mastering the Art of User Story Splitting

for Agile Success

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The Power of User Story Splitting

In agile software development, user stories are pivotal in defining features

and functionality from the user's perspective. However, large, complex user
stories can become unwieldy and hinder progress. This is where the art of
user story splitting comes in. Splitting user stories is a technique that breaks
down larger stories into smaller, more manageable pieces, facilitating
continuous delivery, reducing risk, and enabling frequent feedback.

The Importance of User Story Splitting

User story splitting is essential for maintaining agility in development. By

dividing larger stories, teams can:

Deliver Incremental Value

Smaller stories ensure that each iteration provides tangible
value to the user and the feature can be delivered early
and often

Enhance Team Focus

Teams can concentrate on specific, manageable tasks
without being overwhelmed by complexity.

Facilitate Continuous Feedback

Frequent delivery of smaller increments allows for early
and continuous user feedback, leading to better alignment
with user needs.

Improve Risk Management

Smaller stories help identify issues early, reducing the risk
of large-scale project failures.

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Effective Techniques for Splitting User Stories

1 Vertical Splitting

Breaking down a user story by functionality, so each slice delivers a

piece of end-to-end functionality.

Start with a workflow and identify distinct steps or stages in the

workflow of the user story.

Identify smallest valuable increments and focus on delivering the

smallest increment that still provides value to the user.

Example:

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us hf
As a searc
le
be ab ts.
to Let’s split this user story.
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produ

I want to be able to I want to see I want to filter

open the search search results search results by
widget (search panel) displayed in a list category

www.storiesonboard.com
Effective Techniques for Splitting User Stories

2 Horizontal Splitting

Breaking down a user story by layers or components of the system.

Focus on specific layers like UI layer, business logic layer, data layer,
etc.

Ensure each layer can be developed independently

While not always recommended, this can be useful for teams
specializing in certain layers.

Example:

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u se r, I wa
As a y pro
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ation
inform

I want the frontend to I want the backend I want the

display profile to provide an database to store
information endpoint for profile profile information
information

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Effective Techniques for Splitting User Stories

3 Splitting By Workflow Steps

Splitting the user story based on the steps the user takes to complete
a task. These bigger sized backlog items often reflected as epics in the
backlog.

Map out the user journey to identify key actions or decisions the
user makes.

Create stories for each action and ensure each story has a clear
user action and outcome.

Example:

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As a
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purch

I want to add items I want to review my I want to enter my

to my shopping cart shopping cart payment information

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Effective Techniques for Splitting User Stories

4 Splitting By Business Rules

Splitting the story based on different business rules or scenarios.

These bigger sized backlog items often reflected as epics in the
backlog.

Identify distinct rules or exceptions and look for variations in the

business logic.

Create stories for each rule and ensure each story handles a
specific rule or exception.

Example:

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us e ns
As a o tif icatio
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recei transactio
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for m

I want to receive I want to receive I want to receive

email notifications SMS notifications for in-app notification
for successful failed transactions for all transactions
transactions

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Effective Techniques for Splitting User Stories

5 Splitting By Data Variations

Splitting the story based on different sets of data or input variations.

Identify different data scenarios and look for different types of

input or data conditions.

Create stories for each data scenario and ensure each story
handles a specific data condition.

Example:

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u se r, I wa
As a s
d file Let’s split this user story.
uploa

I want to upload I want to upload text I want to upload .xls

image files or .doc files or sheets

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Best Practices for Splitting User Stories

Maintain Value
Ensure each split story delivers value to the user.

Independent
Stories should be as independent as possible to allow
parallel development and avoid dependencies.

Estimable
The team should be able to estimate the effort required for
each story.

Small
Stories should be small enough to complete within one
iteration.

Testable
Each story should have clear acceptance criteria to
facilitate testing and validation.

Tools and Techniques for User Story Plitting

1 INVEST Criteria
Use the INVEST mnemonic (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable,
Estimable, Small, Testable) to evaluate the quality of your user stories.

2 User Story Mapping

Visualize the user journey and identify key actions and outcomes to
facilitate splitting. TIP try www.storiesonboard.com

3 Workshops and Collaboration

Engage the team in workshops to collaboratively split stories,
leveraging diverse perspectives and expertise.

www.storiesonboard.com
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:
How to Run INVEST Analysis Using StoriesOnBoard AI

StoriesOnBoard

StoriesOnBoard is an AI powered end-to-end product management tool built

on user story mapping in its core. The AI assistant is built into the story map
interface itself and it is capable to help product teams with the following:

Brainstorm user goals / epics

Break goals / epics into user tasks
Brainstorm user stories for tasks
Write the user story itself
Write acceptance criteria (technical, non-technical, UI/UX, security etc.)
Write test cases for the user story
Run INVEST analysis for the story
Collect subtasks for the story
Run impact analysis
and much more using custom AI templates.

Click here to get started:

Try StoriesOnBoard AI

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 How to Run INVEST Analysis Using StoriesOnBoard AI

Let’s have a look at our first example once again. We had the following user
story and we run an INVEST analysis on it using StoriesOnBoard AI.

As a user, I want to be able to search for products.

Description

As a user, I want to be able to search for products.

INVEST Analysis for User Story: 'Search for products’

Criteria: Independent
Failed ] : The user story is not entirely independent as it relies on the
existence of a product database and indexing system. Without these, the
search functionality cannot be implemented.

Criteria: Negotiable
Pass ]: The user story is negotiable. The specifics of the search
functionality, such as filters, sorting options, and search algorithms, can
be discussed and refined with stakeholders.

Criteria: Valuable
[ Pass ]: The user story is valuable. The ability to search for products is a
fundamental feature for an online webshop, significantly enhancing the
user experience by allowing users to quickly find what they are looking
for.

Criteria: Estimable
[ Pass ]: The user story is estimable. The development team can estimate
the effort required to implement a basic search functionality, including
indexing and querying the product database.

Criteria: Small
Failed ]: The user story is too broad. It should be broken down into
smaller tasks, such as implementing the search bar, indexing products,
and creating search result pages.

Criteria: Testable
Pass ]: The user story is testable. Acceptance criteria can be defined to
verify that the search functionality works correctly, such as returning
relevant results, handling empty queries, and managing large datasets.

Conclusion
Overall, the user story 'Search for products' is valuable and negotiable
but needs to be broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks. It Click here to get started:
also depends on other components like the product database and
Try StoriesOnBoard AI
indexing system, which should be considered in the planning phase.
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 How to Run INVEST Analysis Using StoriesOnBoard AI

Now that we split the story into multiple ones as below, lets run again the an
INVEST analysis on the “Open the search widget (search panel)” story using
StoriesOnBoard AI. The result speaks for itself.

I want to be able to open the search widget (search panel).

I want to see search results displayed in a list.
I want to filter search results by category.

Description

I want to be able to open the search widget (search panel).

INVEST Analysis for User Story: 'Open the search widget (search panel)’

Criteria: Independent
Pass ] : The user story is independent as it focuses solely on the
functionality of opening the search widget. It does not depend on other
user stories or features to be implemented.

Criteria: Negotiable
Pass ]: The user story is negotiable. The specifics of how the search
widget should be opened (e.g., via a button, a keyboard shortcut, etc.)
can be discussed and refined with the development team and
stakeholders.

Criteria: Valuable
[ Pass ]: This user story adds value to the end-user by providing a means
to initiate a product search, which is a critical function for an online
webshop aimed at improving the shopping experience.

Criteria: Estimable
[ Pass ]: The user story is clear and concise, making it easy for the
development team to estimate the effort required to implement the
feature.

Criteria: Small
Pass ]: The user story is small in scope, focusing only on the action of
opening the search widget. It is manageable within a single sprint.

Criteria: Testable
Pass ]: The user story is testable. QA can verify that the search widget Click here to get started:
opens correctly and functions as expected when the user interacts with Try StoriesOnBoard AI
it.
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Pitfalls of User Story Splitting

While user story splitting is a powerful technique in agile development, it can

introduce several pitfalls if not done carefully. One major issue is the loss of
context; overly fragmented stories can obscure the broader user experience
and make it challenging to see the overall workflow.

Additionally, excessive splitting can lead to dependency overload, where too

many interdependent stories slow progress and complicate integration
efforts.

There's also a risk of value dilution, where overly granular stories fail to
deliver meaningful value on their own, making it harder to demonstrate
progress to stakeholders.

Finally, estimation challenges arise when stories become too small to

estimate accurately, complicating sprint planning and resource allocation.

To avoid these pitfalls, it's crucial to strike a balance between creating

manageable increments and maintaining a coherent, valuable user
experience.

Conclusion

Mastering user story splitting is crucial for any agile team aiming to deliver
high-quality software efficiently. By breaking down larger stories into smaller,
valuable, and independent pieces, teams can enhance focus, manage risks
better, and ensure continuous delivery of value.

Avoiding common pitfalls, such as losing context or creating excessive

dependencies, is vital for maintaining the balance between granularity and
coherence. Embrace user story splitting as a strategic tool to drive agile
success and build software that truly meets user needs.

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