Agile User Stories and Estimation Questions and Answers

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of using story points for estimation?

Accepted Answer

To create a relative measure of the effort, complexity, and uncertainty of a user story.

Answer

To provide a precise measure of the development time in hours for a user story.

Answer

To track the business value delivered to the customer at the end of each sprint.

Answer

To measure the individual performance of each developer on the team.

Question 2

A team is using the Planning Poker technique to estimate a user story. The initial estimates from the developers are 3, 5, 5, 8, and 13. What is the most valuable next step for the team to take?

Accepted Answer

Ask the two developers who gave the highest and lowest estimates (3 and 13) to discuss their reasoning.

Answer

Take the average of the numbers to determine the final estimate.

Answer

Remove the highest and lowest estimates and use the most common number, 5.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to break the tie and choose the correct estimate.

Question 3

A team completes 20, 25, and 23 story points in its first three sprints. What is the team's calculated average velocity, and how should it primarily be used?

Accepted Answer

22.67; to help with forecasting how much work the team can likely complete in future sprints.

Answer

22.67; to commit to delivering exactly 23 points in the next sprint.

Answer

22.67; to compare the team's performance with other teams in the organization.

Answer

25; to use the highest number for planning to push the team to improve.

Question 4

A Product Owner presents a user story that reads, "As a shopper, I want a search bar." The development team states that the story isn't ready to be worked on because it lacks the 'Confirmation' aspect of the 3 Cs. What is missing?

Accepted Answer

Clear, testable acceptance criteria.

Answer

A detailed technical design document.

Answer

The estimated number of story points.

Answer

A discussion about the story's business value.

Question 5

A user story is considered too large to be completed within a single sprint. Which of the following is the best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Work with the Product Owner to split the story into smaller, independently valuable stories.

Answer

Lengthen the sprint duration to accommodate the large story.

Answer

Keep the story as is and plan to have it span across two sprints.

Answer

Assign the entire story to the most senior developer on the team.

Question 6

According to the INVEST mnemonic, a good user story should be 'Negotiable'. What does this characteristic imply?

Accepted Answer

The story is a placeholder for a conversation about the solution, not a rigid contract.

Answer

The story's priority can be changed at any time by the stakeholders.

Answer

The number of story points assigned to the story can be bargained down by the Product Owner.

Answer

The development team can choose not to work on the story if they disagree with it.