I is for Independent.

A successful Scrum team requires a few core components: competent developers who solve real problems and a servant leader who acts more like a camp counselor than a corporate mascot, offering pragmatic direction. Most critical, however, is a Product Owner who can craft solid user stories or guide analysts to produce them. Without a reliable pipeline of stories, a team is left stranded like a ship with a torn sail. That is why this series will focus squarely on effective story writing.

Having previously discussed Roman Pichler's D.E.E.P. backlog management model, I want to dive into Bill Wake's INVEST framework. The INVEST model outlines how to structure user stories so software developers can clearly execute them. Over the coming weeks, we will break down each element of the acronym. Today, we start with the first principle: making stories Independent.

Biting the Elephant

When General Creighton Abrams took command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, he remarked that defeating a massive opposition meant biting the elephant one bite at a time. Pragmatic, incremental steps trump grand gestures. What holds true in strategic operations applies directly to software delivery.

An independent user story does not rely on other backlog items to deliver functional value. For example, a data retrieval feature remains independent if a small engineering pair can build and deliver it without waiting on outside dependencies:

User Story

As a member of the accounting team, I want to review invoices over 90 days old so that I can improve customer collections.

Because this story handles a single need and assumes no external batch blockers, its scope remains tight. We can define the acceptance criteria straightforwardly:

Acceptance Criteria

Scenario 1: Search ResultsGiven: I am a member of the accounting teamWhen: I search for invoices due in 90 daysThen: I receive a hyperlinked list of matching invoices

Scenario 2: Invoice DetailGiven: I have a list of invoices that are 90 days oldWhen: I select an individual invoiceThen: I can view the full details of that invoice

Slicing the Scope

These criteria reinforce a single, manageable deliverable: searching 90-day invoices and inspecting details. A seasoned Product Owner will recognize that 30-day and 60-day invoices are also required, but will split them into separate backlog items rather than overloading one giant ticket:

• Story 1: Invoices aged 30 to 59 days
• Story 2: Invoices aged 60 to 89 days
• Story 3: Invoices aged 90 days or older

During sprint planning, delivering three small, self-contained stories is far more predictable than attempting one unwieldy monolith.

Keeping stories independent helps your team navigate complex software builds and keep the ship moving forward. How does your team handle story splitting? Let's discuss in the comments below.

Until next time.