Agile Spike Story

An Agile Spike Story is an Agile story that focuses on researching a topic that can then inform future user stories.

• Context:
  • It can range from being a Technical Spike to being a Functional Spike.
  • It can (often) be created when a user story or task cannot be accurately estimated until the Agile team can conduct further research or investigation.
  • It can range from being a Single-Sprint Spike to being a Multi-Sprint Spike (an Epic Spike?).
• Example(s):
  • a Technical Spike, such as: Research how long it takes to update a customer display to current usage, determining communication requirements, bandwidth, and whether to push or pull the data.
  • a Functional Spike, such as: Prototype a histogram in the web portal and get some user feedback on presentation size, style, and charting attributes.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Agile User Story.
  • a Use Case.
  • an Integration Test.
• See: Research Request, Product Management, IT System User, User (System), Agile Software Development, Requirements Management.

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References

2017

• https://www.smartsheet.com/ultimate-agile-dictionary
  • QUOTE:
    • Definition: A Spike refers to a separate timeboxed user story or task that is created in order to research a question or resolve a problem. A spike focuses on gathering information and providing an answer to a question, rather than producing a shippable product.
    • How it’s Used: A Spike is created when a user story or task cannot be accurately estimated until the Agile team can conduct further research or investigation. The spike produces a specific output—an estimate for the original user story—so that the sprint can move forward.
    • Project Management Benefits:
      • Increases the accuracy and reliability of user story estimates.
      • Increases team understanding of a user story or PBI requirement.
      • Reduces risk of wasted or ‘stray’ work.

2013

• https://medium.com/@leanscrummaster/spikes-in-scrum-3c80a65dce58
  • QUOTE:
    • Technical Spikes are used to research various technical approaches in the solution domain. For example, a technical spike may be used for evaluation of potential performance or load impact of a new user story, evaluation of specific implementation technologies that can be applied to a solution, or for any reason when the team needs to develop a more confident understanding of a desired approach before committing new functionality to a timebox.
    • Functional Spikes are used whenever there is significant uncertainty as to how a user might interact with the system. Functional spikes are often best evaluated through some level of prototyping, whether it be user interface mockups, wireframes, page flows, or whatever techniques is best suited to get feedback from the customer or stakeholders.
    • Some user stories may require both types of spikes. For example:
      • As a consumer, I want to see my daily energy use in a histogram, so that I can quickly understand my past, current, and likely near term, future energy consumption.
    • In this case, a team might create two spikes:
    • Technical Spike:

      Research how long it takes to update a customer display to current usage, determining communication requirements, bandwidth, and whether to push or pull the data.

    • Functional Spike:

      Prototype a histogram in the web portal and get some user feedback on presentation size, style, and charting attributes.

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