Make Learning Stick

Reflective Learning

Question

What is the impact of assigning a user story to the current sprint before it is refined and “ready”?

  1. Refining the story has no impact on the sprint; it only impacts initial planning (such as Inception, Sprint Zero, or scoping)
  2. The team is not allowed to include and count the story points in the velocity burndown for the sprint
  3. The team won’t agree or have a common understanding, and the story point estimates will be unreliable
  4. If all user stories aren’t in a ready status, then deadlines will be missed

You Answered: A
Correct Answer: C

Refining a user story occurs after initial planning. Refinement transforms a story from its initial “raw” state into one that is “ready” to be delivered in a sprint. By going through the process of refinement, the team develops a common understanding of what is needed to successfully deliver the story; this understanding helps ensure that we make accurate estimates.