Starting state
This task is based on the assumption that you have already performed the Identifying User Stories task, which means that the backlog (or project plan) is
already populated with an initial set of epics and user stories ready to be prioritized and refined for the work on the
project iterations.
All steps that follow are performed in the Work Items perspective in the Eclipse-based interface of Rational Team
Concert. These instructions are based on the assumption that you are familiar with creating work items. See Creating work items and Creating work items in the Web interface for more information.
Steps
This task covers the following steps:
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Prioritize user stories
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Break down user stories
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Consolidate common user stories
Prioritize user stories
Prioritize user stories in the following way:
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Find work items that are classified as the User Story type. See how to Find work items in the Eclipse UI or Finding work items in the Web interface.
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Modify the priority of the desired user stories one-by-one or by modifying multiple user stories at once
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Right-click the P (Priority) cell of a user story.
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From the drop-down menu, select Change Priority.
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Select the appropriate priority for the user story (Low, Medium, or High).
Alternatively, you can prioritize stories (one at the time) in the Eclipse UI in the following way:
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Find work items that are classified as the User Story type.
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In the list of user stories returned, double-click the desired user story to open the editor.
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In the editor window, click the Priority drop-down menu to select the priority for the user story.
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Select the appropriate priority for the user story (Low, Medium, or High).
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Click Save.
Note:
Stories are first added to the backlog, which is identified in the Filed Against field. When they are
ready for implementation, stories should be moved to a Sprint Backlog (Scrum Process template) or Iteration Plan (IBM
Practices for Agile Delivery Process template) in the Planned For field.
Break down user stories
Epics and other large user stories are broken down into right-sized user stories that can be assigned to team members
in one given iteration. Create as many fine-grained user stories as you need, as described in the Identifying User Stories task. Then follow these steps to define the relationships
to show which epics originated which user stories:
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Find an epic. For example, by running a standard or customized query that returns all work items of the Epic type.
(See Finding work items or Finding work items in the Web interface for more information.)
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In the list of epics returned by the query, click the epic that you want to edit to open the editor.
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In the epic editor, click the Links tab
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In the Links section of the tab, click the Add button and select
Children.
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Within the Select Work Items window, type text to match the user story name or identifier.
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In the list of matching work items, select user stories that will be children of this epic.
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Click OK and Save.
Consolidate common user stories
As part of revising and refining user stories, consolidate similar, common user stories to avoid duplication of
functionality in the system and a waste of time trying to solve similar problem. Mark duplicate user stories in the
following way:
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Find potential duplicates (in the Eclipse UI or Web UI) of a user story or run a query to find work items of the User Story type.
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In the list of stories returned, click the user story that you want to edit to open its editor.
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With the user story in Identified or In progress states, move the state to
Defer and the reason to Duplicate.
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Click the Links tab.
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In the Links section of the tab, click the Add button and select Make
Duplicate of.
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Within the Select Work Items window, type text to match the user story name or identifier.
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In the list of matching work items, select the user story that this user story is a duplicate of.
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Click OK and Save.
Result
The epics are broken down into finer-grained user stories and their parent-child relationship is defined. Prioritized
user stories are consolidated and at the right size to be assigned to an iteration. You can see results, for example,
in the Iteration Plan or in the Team Central and My Work views. See Viewing work items in a plan, Work items perspectives and views, and Managing dashboards in the Web interface for more information.
Additional resources
Follow these links to get additional details about this task:
See the Terminology Map to get a better understanding of how work products in this task
relate to tool-specific artifacts.
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