A user story is not a technical task list

I still see user stories that carry, every single time, the same tasks: code, test, write down the technical details of the implementation. Sometimes it is the tech lead who records there how the thing must be done. These are not user stories, and it is a practice to ban for good.

A user story describes value for a user. A task that says “code” or “test” brings no business value; it describes the developer’s job itself. Developing is a profession, even a craft, that brings together several skills: designing, testing, coding. If it has to be spelled out in every story, there is a maturity problem, in the team or in those who manage it, not a story problem.

Jira is not a development tool

Asking a tech lead, or allowing one, to describe the expected implementation there moves design into a form nobody will read again, and takes from the team the moment when it should have thought together. It is a real waste of time and effort for everyone: for the person writing, for those executing without understanding, and for those who will maintain the result.

If the goal is to raise the team’s technical skills, there is a way that works: pair programming, or mob programming. Know-how is passed on by working together on the real code, not in the description field of a ticket.

A well-written story says what and why.

The how belongs to the team, at the moment it takes the story on. That is where the craft is practised, and that is where it is learned