diegosouzapw Agile Product Owner
Overview
This skill provides a complete toolkit for agile product ownership -- from backlog refinement to sprint delivery. It combines Python automation tools for story generation with collaborative practices (Example Mapping, Three Amigos, Definition of Ready) that ensure stories are well-understood before development begins.
Core Value: Reduce mid-sprint scope discovery and rework by ensuring every story meets a hard Definition of Ready gate before entering the sprint.
Target Audience: Product Owners, Business Analysts, Scrum Masters, and cross-functional teams practicing agile delivery.
Use Cases:
- Breaking epics into deliverable, INVEST-compliant user stories
- Running Example Mapping sessions to discover requirements through concrete examples
- Facilitating Three Amigos collaboration across business, development, and testing
- Enforcing Definition of Ready as a non-negotiable sprint entry gate
- Sprint planning and capacity allocation
Core Capabilities
- Story Generation - INVEST-compliant user story generator with acceptance criteria, estimation, and sprint planning
- Requirements Discovery - Example Mapping technique for collaborative specification through concrete examples
- Cross-Functional Collaboration - Three Amigos sessions bridging business, development, and testing perspectives
- Quality Gates - Definition of Ready checklist enforced as a hard gate before sprint entry
- Agile Ceremonies - Complete frameworks for planning, review, retrospective, and daily standup
Key Workflows
Workflow 1: Story Discovery and Readiness
Time: 25-minute timebox per story
Steps:
- Select story from backlog (about to enter sprint)
- Run Three Amigos session with business, dev, and testing representatives
- Use Example Mapping to explore rules, examples, and questions
- Resolve all red cards (questions) before development starts
- Verify story against Definition of Ready checklist
Expected Output: Story with complete acceptance criteria, concrete examples, resolved questions, and DoR confirmation
References:
- Example Mapping -- card types, session flow, conversational patterns
- Three Amigos -- perspectives, anti-patterns, facilitation
- Definition of Ready -- hard gate criteria, enforcement
Workflow 2: Epic Breakdown and Sprint Planning
Time: 2-4 hours for planning; 1 hour weekly for refinement
Steps:
- Define epic with scope and personas
- Generate stories:
python scripts/user_story_generator.py epic.json - Review INVEST criteria compliance
- Run Three Amigos on each story
- Estimate with planning poker
- Pull stories into sprint until capacity reached
Expected Output: Sprint backlog of ready, estimated, well-understood stories
Complete toolkit for agile product ownership - from backlog refinement to sprint delivery. This skill provides Python tools for story generation, comprehensive frameworks for agile ceremonies, and battle-tested templates for user stories and epics.
What This Skill Provides:
- INVEST-compliant user story generator with sprint planning
- Complete agile ceremony frameworks (planning, review, retro)
- Velocity tracking and capacity planning methods
- Story estimation and backlog refinement processes
- Example Mapping, Three Amigos, and Definition of Ready practices
Best For:
- Breaking epics into deliverable user stories
- Sprint planning and capacity allocation
- Running effective agile ceremonies
- Tracking team velocity and burndown
- Discovering requirements collaboratively before development
Quick Start
Generate User Stories
# From sample epic
python scripts/user_story_generator.py
# From custom epic
python scripts/user_story_generator.py epic.json
# Sprint planning (30 points)
python scripts/user_story_generator.py --sprint --capacity 30
Story Quality Check
Use INVEST criteria to validate stories:
- Independent: Can complete without dependencies
- Negotiable: Flexible on implementation
- Valuable: Delivers user/business value
- Estimable: Team can size it
- Small: Fits in one sprint
- Testable: Clear success criteria
See frameworks.md for complete INVEST guidelines.
Core Workflows
1. Epic Breakdown Process
Steps:
- Define epic with scope and personas
- Generate stories:
python scripts/user_story_generator.py epic.json - Review INVEST criteria compliance
- Refine acceptance criteria
- Prioritize and estimate with team
Epic JSON Format:
{
"name": "User Dashboard",
"description": "Create dashboard for users",
"personas": ["end_user", "power_user"],
"scope": [
"View key metrics and KPIs",
"Customize dashboard layout",
"Export dashboard data"
],
"technical_requirements": [
"Implement caching for performance"
]
}
Detailed Process: See frameworks.md for INVEST criteria and backlog refinement.
Templates: See templates.md for epic and user story templates.
2. Sprint Planning Process
Part 1: What Will We Build? (2 hours)
- Set sprint goal aligned with quarterly OKRs
- Calculate team capacity (velocity x sprint days)
- Pull stories from backlog until capacity reached
- Identify dependencies and risks
Part 2: How Will We Build It? (2 hours)
- Break stories into technical tasks
- Estimate task hours
- Assign initial owners
- Commit to sprint scope
Sprint Planning Tool:
python scripts/user_story_generator.py epic.json --sprint --capacity 30
Detailed Framework: See frameworks.md for complete sprint planning guide.
Templates: See templates.md for sprint planning agenda.
3. Backlog Refinement Process
Weekly Activity (1 hour mid-sprint):
- Review upcoming epics
- Break into user stories
- Write acceptance criteria
- Estimate with planning poker
- Ensure 2-3 sprints of refined backlog
Estimation Scale:
- 1-2 points: Simple (2-4 hours)
- 3-5 points: Moderate (1-3 days)
- 8 points: Complex (3-5 days)
- 13+ points: Too large - needs breakdown
Detailed Process: See frameworks.md for refinement and estimation methods.
Templates: See templates.md for story templates and splitting techniques.
Python Tools
user_story_generator.py
INVEST-compliant story generator with sprint planning.
Key Features:
- Epic breakdown into user stories
- Automatic acceptance criteria generation
- Story point estimation
- INVEST criteria validation
- Sprint capacity planning
- Multiple output formats (text, JSON, CSV)
Usage:
# Basic story generation
python3 scripts/user_story_generator.py epic.json
# Sprint planning
python3 scripts/user_story_generator.py --sprint --capacity 30
# JSON output for Jira import
python3 scripts/user_story_generator.py -o json -f stories.json
# CSV for spreadsheet import
python3 scripts/user_story_generator.py -o csv -f backlog.csv
# Verbose mode (show all stories)
python3 scripts/user_story_generator.py -v
Story Point Estimation:
- 1 pt: Simple, basic, view (2-4 hours)
- 3 pts: Create, edit, update (1 day)
- 5 pts: Moderate complexity (2-3 days)
- 8 pts: Complex, integrate (3-5 days)
- 13 pts: Redesign, refactor (1-2 weeks, needs breakdown)
Complete Documentation: See tools.md for full usage guide, input formats, and integration patterns.
Reference Documentation
Frameworks (frameworks.md)
Comprehensive agile methodologies:
- INVEST Criteria: Detailed guidelines for each criterion
- Sprint Planning: Two-part planning framework
- Sprint Review & Retrospective: Complete ceremony guides
- Daily Standup: Three questions format and anti-patterns
- Backlog Refinement: Estimation and prioritization
- Velocity Tracking: Calculation, trends, burndown charts
- Release Planning: Capacity and timeline forecasting
Templates (templates.md)
Ready-to-use templates:
- User Story Templates: Standard, feature, technical, bug fix formats
- Epic Templates: Complete epic structure with examples
- Sprint Ceremony Agendas: Planning, review, retrospective formats
- Story Splitting Techniques: By workflow, business rules, data entry
- Best Practices: Writing effective stories and avoiding pitfalls
Tools (tools.md)
Python tool documentation:
- user_story_generator.py: Complete usage guide
- Input Formats: Epic JSON structure
- Output Formats: Text, JSON, CSV examples
- Command-Line Options: All flags and parameters
- Integration Patterns: Jira, Linear, ProductBoard workflows
- Troubleshooting: Common issues and solutions
- Best Practices: DO/DON'T guidelines
Consolidated References
The following references were consolidated from BDD requirements discovery methodology:
| Reference | Content | When to Load |
|---|---|---|
| Example Mapping | Four card types, session flow, conversational patterns, output artifacts, anti-patterns | Story about to enter sprint; team uncertain about scope; cross-functional clarification needed |
| Three Amigos | Three perspectives (business/dev/test), session structure, cadence, confirmation bias defense, anti-patterns | Backlog refinement; before sprint planning; after significant scope change |
| Definition of Ready | Hard gate criteria, requirements completeness (functional/NFR/business rules), quality review dimensions, enforcement without bureaucracy | Verifying story readiness before sprint entry; establishing team standards |
Additional references (story decomposition and workshops)
The following references extend story decomposition and workshop execution patterns:
| Reference | Content | When to Load |
|---|---|---|
| Story Splitting Patterns | SPIDR and practical splitting patterns with before/after examples | Stories are too large or carry hidden coupling |
| Epic Breakdown Patterns | Epic decomposition, dependency mapping, and vertical slicing heuristics | Planning a delivery sequence from a broad initiative |
| Epic Hypothesis Format | Hypothesis-driven epic framing with measurable outcomes | Defining epics that need testable business outcomes |
| Story Mapping Workshop | Story mapping method plus facilitation protocol for release slicing | Running collaborative story mapping sessions with cross-functional teams |
Integration Points
This toolkit integrates with:
- Project Management: Jira, Linear, Azure DevOps, Asana
- Collaboration: Confluence, Notion, Miro
- Version Control: GitHub Issues, GitLab Issues
- Roadmapping: ProductBoard, Aha!, Roadmunk
See tools.md for detailed integration workflows.
Quick Commands
# Generate stories from sample
python scripts/user_story_generator.py
# Generate from custom epic
python scripts/user_story_generator.py epic.json
# Sprint planning (30 points)
python scripts/user_story_generator.py --sprint --capacity 30
# Export as JSON
python scripts/user_story_generator.py -o json -f stories.json
# Export as CSV
python scripts/user_story_generator.py -o csv -f backlog.csv
# Verbose output (all stories)
python scripts/user_story_generator.py -v