#11 The Expanding User Story

Symptom: A little way into the sprint a user story expands to be more work than was initially estimated.

Probable Cause: One probable cause is that the acceptance criteria was not provided or specific enough and the vague interpretation of the story has bloated the tasks associated with it.

Suggested Resolution: Try to redefine the acceptance criteria to be more specific, testable and in keeping with the original objectives for the story. Based on this refined definition, try to reallocate tasks that no longer seem appropriate to new user stories that can then be prioritised in later sprints.

Ideally, you are looking for user stories to be a good granular level that are short and sharp with a testable acceptance criteria that can be completed within a sprint.

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