User Stories and Acceptance Criteria Flashcards
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Read the first 7 User Stories and Acceptance Criteria flashcards as text
In the Given-When-Then (Gherkin) format for acceptance criteria, what does the 'Then' clause describe?
Answer: The expected outcome or observable result
The 'Then' clause in Gherkin format describes the expected outcome or observable result that should occur after the action described in the 'When' clause.
What is the key difference between acceptance criteria and the Definition of Done?
Answer: Acceptance criteria are story-specific; the Definition of Done applies universally to all stories on the team
Acceptance criteria are specific to individual user stories and define what 'done' means for that story, while the Definition of Done is a team-wide quality standard applied to every story completed.
Which of the following violates the INVEST criteria for user stories?
Answer: A story that bundles UI changes and database schema updates because they are technically related
Bundling UI and database changes violates the 'Independent' criterion of INVEST, as these concerns are coupled and cannot be developed or delivered independently.
What is a 'spike' in agile development?
Answer: A time-boxed research or exploration task to reduce technical or business uncertainty
A spike is a time-boxed task used to research or explore a problem domain to reduce uncertainty, enabling the team to estimate or implement a subsequent user story more confidently.
Who has primary responsibility for ensuring acceptance criteria are defined for user stories?
Answer: The Product Owner
The Product Owner is primarily responsible for defining acceptance criteria, as they represent stakeholder needs and have authority to determine what constitutes a successful outcome.
When is the best time to define acceptance criteria for a user story?
Answer: Before the story enters a sprint, ideally during backlog refinement
Acceptance criteria should be defined before development begins — ideally during backlog refinement — so the entire team understands what 'done' looks like before they start building.
What does the 'N' in the INVEST acronym stand for?
Answer: Negotiable
The 'N' in INVEST stands for Negotiable, meaning the details of a user story are open to discussion and collaboration between the team and stakeholders, not fixed requirements.