TDD for Absolute Beginners

In this post I aim at providing a solid overview of what Unit Tests are and what TDD is. It is intended for people not familiar with TDD yet and definitely not for seasoned developers. I'm not presenting any fancy or advanced methods, instead, I'm focusing on explaining TDD in a way that is easy to understand. Also, if you want to learn what TDD is about but your role is different than a developer, you are welcome to read on watch the video. It should help you understand what it is, what its benefits are, but also how much discipline it requires to be done right.

Less obvious advice on User Stories

Much have been written already about the craft of writing User Stories and this post is not meant to repeat or replace any of the existing writings on the subject. On the other hand I know there is a dead zone in there and it is not easy to find advice on certain practical aspects of writing well-crafted Stories. I also feel I've accumulated enough of the less obvious knowledge of that craft that sharing it is likely to fill in some of the gaps. This post is targeted at the audience with a good amount of experience at writing User Stories already: Product Owners, Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches.

Real-life backlog and how to deal with it

Have you also had this uncomfortable feeling that your product or sprint backlog is so different and so less tidy that the examples you read in books or articles? I have had it. For some time I even believed that there are those legendary teams and companies somewhere whose backlog is just like from a book. Fortunately, I no longer believe it. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's an example of a difference between tidy, theoretical backlog of User Stories and a real-life backlog that we deal with on a daily basis.