Understanding the three “C”s of Agile User Stories
A simple introduction to the lifecycle of user stories in agile development…
The “three Cs” model is a way to understand the lifecycle of user stories in software development—the three Cs stand for Card, Conversation, and Confirmation.
The First C
The Card is a placeholder for a conversation and a commitment that the team will discuss how to deliver the user’s needs. User stories are written on cards that form the product backlog. One benefit of capturing user stories on cards is the ability to efficiently prioritize the user stories and make changes to the priority.
The Second C
The Conversation represents the commitment of the team to discuss the user need and to uncover the best way to deliver the anticipated business benefit. The user story is not a specification but a statement of the market to be met. This is the collaboration between the team to turn the placeholder into something that can be delivered. In Agile projects, the product owner prioritizes the backlog and brings candidate user stories into the squad for discussion. The team works together to understand the solution.
The Third C
Confirmation is the confirmation that the user’s need has been delivered. In Agile projects, the team works in iterative steps, building systems in a series of incremental steps. The team works on a user story, thoroughly discussing it and working from understanding the user’s need to delivering the solution. The confirmation that the user need has been given is an essential part of the user story lifecycle.
The three Cs model of user stories highlights collaboration and communication’s importance in software development. Capturing user stories on cards and prioritizing them, thoroughly discussing them as a team, and confirming that the user need has been delivered are critical steps in the user story lifecycle. This model helps teams better understand how to use user stories to provide software that meets users’ needs.
The article is “Understanding the three “C” s of Agile User Stories.“