The most important unit of work for a Scrum Team is the Story. The Story is a unit of work (Item) that the Team does ‘all at once.’ Stories provide small units of value, such as a complete or partial Capability, a Chore or resolution of an Issue or Risk.
In general, we think of a Story as simply a request for the Team to do something of value. This does not mean releasable value; that’s what Capabilities are for. It does mean demonstrable, testable and verifiable value; as the Team needs to be able to inspect and adapt based on the results.
Writing a good story can be easier said than done. To assist in this endeavor, we offer the INVEST acronym, originated by Bill Wake1. INVEST provides 6 Criteria for writing good Stories.
If you’re looking for more help on writing good Stories,
we’ve got training for that.
As Always, Stay Agile.
1 Xp123.com, blog on INVEST in 2003.