INVEST Principle

5 minutes 5 Questions

The INVEST Principle is an acronym that encompasses characteristics of good user stories in Scrum. This includes Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable. Following the INVEST principle helps in creating high-quality user stories that are easier to comprehend, prioritize, a…

Guide to INVEST Principle in Scrum

What is INVEST Principle?
INVEST is an acronym in Scrum methodology, which stands for Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable. These are criteria for effective user stories in a Scrum project.

Importance of INVEST Principle
The INVEST principle ensures that each user story in a Scrum project is sufficiently independent, provides value, can be estimated and tested, and remains negotiable in nature. This allows teams to prioritize them based on their value to the business.

How INVEST Principle Works?
In the Scrum development process, user stories are evaluated to ensure they meet each criterion of the INVEST principle. This promotes communication, improves the product backlog, and ensures that each story can be developed and tested within a single sprint.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on INVEST Principle
For exam questions related to the INVEST principle, be familiar with each criterion and its value to your Scrum project. Your answers should emphasize the benefits of meeting each criterion, such as the ability to develop and deliver quality user stories within a sprint. Simultaneously, remember that the INVEST principle is a guide and not a rule, so sharing context-specific examples where slight deviations worked would also demonstrate a deep understanding of Scrum.

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PSM I - INVEST Principle Example Questions

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Question 1

You are a Scrum Master, and the Product Owner brings a new story which is large and complex and wants to add it to the current sprint. Which principle of the INVEST method should be implemented to handle the situation?

Recommend breaking down the sprint to accommodate the story without assessing its size or complexity Advise the team to increase velocity to accommodate the complex story Slice the story to ensure it aligns with the 'Small' criterion of the INVEST principle Suggest adjusting the Definition of Done to include the new story regardless of its size and complexity. This approach might involve extending the sprint duration or altering the team's working agreements to address the unique challenges presented by the story's inclusion. By modifying the Definition of Done, the team agrees on a potentially feasible strategy for incorporating the story, despite possible deviations from standard Scrum practices.

Correct Answer: Slice the story to ensure it aligns with the 'Small' criterion of the INVEST principle

The INVEST criteria for user stories ensure that they are Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable. In this scenario, given a large and complex story, the correct approach is to 'Slice' the story to ensure it fits the 'Small' criterion, making it manageable within the sprint's scope. Increasing velocity, breaking down the sprint without addressing the story's size, or adjusting the Definition of Done do not directly address the issue of the story's complexity and size and may lead to improper implementation of Scrum principles.

Question 2

As a Scrum Master, you noted that a user story lacks clear acceptance criteria, therefore it’s hard to determine if the story is 'Testable'. How will you address this issue using the INVEST principle?

Suggest breaking down the user story further to ensure it fits within a single sprint, improving its 'Small' characteristic. Advise adding more technical details to the user story to ensure it covers all possible scenarios, thereby enhancing its 'Valuable' aspect. Recommend keeping the story as it is to respect the 'Negotiable' quality of user stories, assuming clarity will emerge during the sprint. Encourage the team to collaborate with the Product Owner for clearer acceptance criteria highlighting the importance of 'Testability'.

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to collaborate with the Product Owner for clearer acceptance criteria highlighting the importance of 'Testability'.

The correct answer focuses on improving the 'Testable' characteristic of a user story as per the INVEST principle, encouraging collaboration for clear acceptance criteria. The wrong answers suggest actions that focus on other aspects of the INVEST criteria (making the story small, valuable, or negotiable) which are not directly related to the issue of the story lacking clear acceptance criteria for 'Testability'.

Question 3

During backlog refinement, the team realizes that one of the user stories might require assistance from an outside team, which might lead to dependency and delays. How can you apply the INVEST principle to address this?

Recommend incorporating the potential delay into the sprint forecast without adjusting the user story. Suggest to break the user story into smaller pieces, hoping each smaller piece might not require outside assistance. Propose redefining the user story to ensure it is 'Independent', minimizing dependencies on outside teams. Advise the creation of a spike to research alternatives to the dependency, which could take additional time and resources beyond the original estimate for the user story.

Correct Answer: Propose redefining the user story to ensure it is 'Independent', minimizing dependencies on outside teams.

The correct application of the INVEST principle, particularly the 'Independent' part, involves adjusting the user story to minimize or eliminate dependencies. This enables the team to proceed with development without waiting for external assistance. Breaking the user story into smaller pieces does not necessarily address the dependency issue and might still result in delays. Simply incorporating the delay into the sprint forecast does not proactively address the issue but rather accepts the potential for delay. Creating a spike could be helpful in some scenarios but is a diversion from directly addressing the dependency issue within the user story itself.

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