Shared terminology and definitions between product owner and delivery team
Decomposition of larger stories into smaller ones
Relative sizing of stories
Shared understanding of priority
What to Groom?
User stories answer three vital questions: Who? What? and Why?
They often take the form:
"As a (who), I need to (what) so that I can (why)."
Regardless of form, the answers to the three questions are critical to being successful.
Grooming Success
Ideal User Story
Zone of Confusion
Zone of Waste
Stories up here are too large, ambiguous or imprecise
Stories down here include technical components and valuable grooming time is spent making technical decisions
Let's get concrete
"As a client, I need to see appropriately styled elements so that my brand is properly represented."
Potential for confusion:
What are the "elements" the product owner refers to?
What constitutes a "styled" element?
Acceptance criteria or decomposing into multiple stories can help increase precision. Grooming should result in clarity and agreement between the product owner and the delivery team.
