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Re: Top-down User Stories
by Adam Sroka-3
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On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 6:18 AM, Jana Jecmen <jana.jecmen@...> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> My company is developing the strategy for going Agile. Here is how we plan
> to maintain the Backlog:
>
> product management should specify a "theme",
> product owner should write User Stories for it,
> developers should estimate them and eventually split them into tasks.
>
> This strategy is believed to give us a framework to stay on track and to
> deliver what product management wants.
>
> Did anybody apply a similar top-down approach in practice?
>
> I like this strategy, but I have a nagging suspicion that this is not an
> Agile methodology. Shouldn't the User Stories be created in a bottom-up
> fashion in Agile?
>
I take it that you mean "Top-down" in the sense that management is
saying what needs to be done and this is being passed down to the
team. This is a little confusing, because Agile organizations are very
flat, and the terms "top-down" vs. "bottom-up" are usually applied to
the technical design. I believe that you are using them in an
organizational sense and not a technical sense, but correct me if I am
wrong.
"Top-down" is certainly more correct than "bottom-up." But, ideally we
want a more interactive process where management provides the vision
and gives high level direction and the team fills in the details of
what needs to be done and how to do it with feedback going in both
directions.
As Ron already said it is important that user stories have business
value. So, it is important that business people are involved in
defining them and making sure that the implementation meets their
expectations (e.g. through Acceptance Testing.)
It is also important that technical team members have the right to say
what can be done and how long it will take without undue external
pressure. We want technical members to be honest and creative. We want
them to solve the business problems as best they know how while
maintaining the highest attainable quality.
So, rather than thinking in terms of "top-down" vs "bottom-up,"
perhaps it is more correct to think of two entities - the business
team and the technical team - working together to try and solve common
problems without getting in each others way. In order to do this they
need to be able to communicate and develop a shared understanding.
> Hi All,
>
> My company is developing the strategy for going Agile. Here is how we plan
> to maintain the Backlog:
>
> product management should specify a "theme",
> product owner should write User Stories for it,
> developers should estimate them and eventually split them into tasks.
>
> This strategy is believed to give us a framework to stay on track and to
> deliver what product management wants.
>
> Did anybody apply a similar top-down approach in practice?
>
> I like this strategy, but I have a nagging suspicion that this is not an
> Agile methodology. Shouldn't the User Stories be created in a bottom-up
> fashion in Agile?
>
I take it that you mean "Top-down" in the sense that management is
saying what needs to be done and this is being passed down to the
team. This is a little confusing, because Agile organizations are very
flat, and the terms "top-down" vs. "bottom-up" are usually applied to
the technical design. I believe that you are using them in an
organizational sense and not a technical sense, but correct me if I am
wrong.
"Top-down" is certainly more correct than "bottom-up." But, ideally we
want a more interactive process where management provides the vision
and gives high level direction and the team fills in the details of
what needs to be done and how to do it with feedback going in both
directions.
As Ron already said it is important that user stories have business
value. So, it is important that business people are involved in
defining them and making sure that the implementation meets their
expectations (e.g. through Acceptance Testing.)
It is also important that technical team members have the right to say
what can be done and how long it will take without undue external
pressure. We want technical members to be honest and creative. We want
them to solve the business problems as best they know how while
maintaining the highest attainable quality.
So, rather than thinking in terms of "top-down" vs "bottom-up,"
perhaps it is more correct to think of two entities - the business
team and the technical team - working together to try and solve common
problems without getting in each others way. In order to do this they
need to be able to communicate and develop a shared understanding.
« Return to Thread: Top-down User Stories
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