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User stories are reminders of features, not full specifications. Avoid recording every detail up front because details change. We’ll capture the details later, when they matter. When a story reads like a contract, it stops being a conversation. When it reads like a reminder, it invites one. Follow the acronym “INVEST” as a quick check. I.NDEPENDENT N.EGOTIABLE V.ALUABLE E.STIMATABLE S.MALL T.ESTABLE NEGOTIABLE Write stories as negotiable reminders, not fixed contracts. We leave the details out and create room for conversation. ...

User stories are reminders of features, not full specifications. Avoid recording every detail up front because details change. We’ll capture the details later, when they matter. When a story reads like a contract, it stops being a conversation. When it reads like a reminder, it invites one. Follow the acronym “INVEST” as a quick check. I.NDEPENDENT N.EGOTIABLE V.ALUABLE E.STIMATABLE S.MALL T.ESTABLE INDEPENDENT User stories should be independent enough to let the team implement by business value, not by technical order. Independence means a story doesn’t force a strict implementation sequence. “Login” shouldn’t have to come before “Logout”. ...

Your project shouldn’t finished when every ticket is implemented. Instead have in mind to finish it when there are no more stories worth doing. There will come a time when the stakeholders scan the backlog and find that none of the remaining stories are worth doing. It’s not uncommon for an early story’s priority to evaporate over time, as higher‑value work is surfaced. That’s just fine. The team should recognize that when the flow of value has stopped, we can gracefully end the project, instead of chasing backlog completion for its own sake.

We can look at each iteration as a pump. As each iteration completes, we add the completed velocity to the chart so that everyone can see how fast we’re going. Iteration after iteration the pump draws ROI out of the story deck. Continuous exploration pumps ROI back in by discovering new, valuable stories. As long as incoming ROI outpaces outgoing ROI, the project keeps flowing. When exploration slows and new features dry up, the deck’s ROI is exhausted. ...

Plan from What You Learned We learn how much a team can do by looking at the last iteration - that’s “yesterday’s weather.” If the team finished 18 points in the last iteration, we plan for 18 points in the next iteration. And at the midpoint we check the team’s progress, expecting to learn that half of the work, 9 points, has been done. But, if we find that more got done, 12 points (wonderful!), then the stakeholders might decide to move more work into the current sprint since there might be capacity for it. ...