user-story-splitting skill

Purpose

Break down large user stories, epics, or features into smaller, independently deliverable stories using systematic splitting patterns. Use this to make work more manageable, reduce risk, enable faster feedback cycles, and maintain flow in agile development. This skill applies to user stories, epics, and any work that's too large to complete in a single sprint.

This is not arbitrary slicing—it's strategic decomposition that preserves user value while reducing complexity.

Input

Works best with: The story or epic that's too big — paste it as written. Also useful: Why it's too big (can't estimate, can't finish in a sprint, can't release independently) and your team's sizing ceiling.

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The skill asks for the story text, then walks the split patterns against it.

Example invocation: Split this: 'As an admin, I can bulk-import users from CSV, Excel, or our HR system with field mapping and error handling.'

Key Concepts

The Story Splitting Framework

Based on Richard Lawrence and Peter Green's "Humanizing Work Guide to Splitting User Stories," the framework provides 8 systematic patterns for splitting work:

1. Workflow steps: Split along sequential steps in a user's journey
2. Business rule variations: Split by different rule scenarios (permissions, calculations, etc.)
3. Data variations: Split by different data types or inputs
4. Acceptance criteria complexity: Split when multiple "When" or "Then" statements exist
5. Major effort: Split by technical milestones or implementation phases
6. External dependencies: Split along dependency boundaries (APIs, third parties, etc.)
7. DevOps steps: Split by deployment or infrastructure requirements
8. Tiny Acts of Discovery (TADs): When none of the above apply, use small experiments to unpack unknowns

Why Split Stories?

• Faster feedback: Smaller stories ship sooner, allowing earlier validation
• Reduced risk: Less to build = less that can go wrong
• Better estimation: Small stories are easier to estimate accurately
• Maintain flow: Keeps work moving through the sprint without bottlenecks
• Testability: Smaller scope = easier to write and run tests

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• Not horizontal slicing: Don't split into "front-end story" and "back-end story" (each story should deliver user value)
• Not task decomposition: Stories aren't tasks ("Set up database," "Write API")
• Not arbitrary chopping: Don't split "Add user management" into "Add user" and "Management" (meaningless)

When to Use This

• Story is too large for a single sprint
• Multiple "When" or "Then" statements in acceptance criteria
• Epic needs to be broken down into deliverable increments
• Team can't reach consensus on story size or scope
• Story has multiple personas or workflows bundled together

When NOT to Use This

• Story is already small and well-scoped (don't over-split)
• Splitting would create dependencies that slow delivery
• The story is a technical task (use engineering task breakdown instead)

Application

Step 1: Identify the Original Story

Start with the story/epic/feature that needs splitting. Ensure it's written using the user story format (reference skills/user-story/SKILL.md or skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md).

### Original Story:
[Story formatted with use case and acceptance criteria]

Step 2: Apply the Splitting Logic

Use template.md for the full fill-in structure and output format.

Work through the 8 splitting patterns in order. Stop when you find one that applies.

Pattern 1: Workflow Steps

Ask: Does this story contain multiple sequential steps?

Example:

• Original: "As a user, I want to sign up, verify my email, and complete onboarding"
• Split:

1. "As a user, I want to sign up with email/password"
2. "As a user, I want to verify my email via a confirmation link"
3. "As a user, I want to complete onboarding by answering 3 profile questions"

Pattern 2: Business Rule Variations

Ask: Does this story have different rules for different scenarios?

Example:

• Original: "As a user, I want to apply discounts (10% for members, 20% for VIPs, 5% for first-time buyers)"
• Split:

1. "As a member, I want to apply a 10% discount at checkout"
2. "As a VIP, I want to apply a 20% discount at checkout"
3. "As a first-time buyer, I want to apply a 5% discount at checkout"

Pattern 3: Data Variations

Ask: Does this story handle different types of data or inputs?

Example:

• Original: "As a user, I want to upload files (images, PDFs, videos)"
• Split:

1. "As a user, I want to upload image files (JPG, PNG)"
2. "As a user, I want to upload PDF documents"
3. "As a user, I want to upload video files (MP4, MOV)"

Pattern 4: Acceptance Criteria Complexity

Ask: Does this story have multiple "When" or "Then" statements?

Example:

• Original: "As a user, I want to manage my cart"
• When I add an item, Then it appears in my cart
• When I remove an item, Then it disappears from my cart
• When I update quantity, Then the cart total updates
• Split:

1. "As a user, I want to add items to my cart so I can purchase them later"
2. "As a user, I want to remove items from my cart so I can change my mind"
3. "As a user, I want to update item quantities so I can buy the right amount"

Note: This is the most common indicator that a story needs splitting. If you see multiple "When/Then" pairs, split along those boundaries.

Pattern 5: Major Effort

Ask: Does this story require significant technical work that can be delivered incrementally?

Example:

• Original: "As a user, I want real-time collaboration on documents"
• Split:

1. "As a user, I want to see who else is viewing the document (read-only presence)"
2. "As a user, I want to see live cursor positions of other editors"
3. "As a user, I want to see live edits from other users in real-time"

Pattern 6: External Dependencies

Ask: Does this story depend on multiple external systems or APIs?

Example:

• Original: "As a user, I want to log in with Google, Facebook, or Twitter"
• Split:

1. "As a user, I want to log in with Google OAuth"
2. "As a user, I want to log in with Facebook OAuth"
3. "As a user, I want to log in with Twitter OAuth"

Pattern 7: DevOps Steps

Ask: Does this story require complex deployment, infrastructure, or operational work?