CPOA User Stories and Acceptance Criteria 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the Given-When-Then (Gherkin) format for acceptance criteria, what does the 'Then' clause describe?
- The precondition or initial context before the action
- The action or event that triggers the system behavior
- The expected outcome or observable result (Correct answer)
- The user role performing the action
Correct answer: The expected outcome or observable result
The 'Then' clause in Gherkin format describes the expected outcome or observable result that should occur after the action described in the 'When' clause.
Question 2: What is the key difference between acceptance criteria and the Definition of Done?
- Acceptance criteria are written by developers; the Definition of Done is written by the product owner
- Acceptance criteria are story-specific; the Definition of Done applies universally to all stories on the team (Correct answer)
- Acceptance criteria focus on technical quality; the Definition of Done focuses on business value
- Acceptance criteria are optional; the Definition of Done is always mandatory
Correct answer: Acceptance criteria are story-specific; the Definition of Done applies universally to all stories on the team
Acceptance criteria are specific to individual user stories and define what 'done' means for that story, while the Definition of Done is a team-wide quality standard applied to every story completed.
Question 3: Which of the following violates the INVEST criteria for user stories?
- A story that is small enough to be completed in two days
- A story that bundles UI changes and database schema updates because they are technically related (Correct answer)
- A story whose implementation details can be discussed and adjusted with the team
- A story with testable acceptance criteria that can be verified as pass or fail
Correct answer: A story that bundles UI changes and database schema updates because they are technically related
Bundling UI and database changes violates the 'Independent' criterion of INVEST, as these concerns are coupled and cannot be developed or delivered independently.
Question 4: What is a 'spike' in agile development?
- A sudden increase in the number of user stories added to the backlog
- A time-boxed research or exploration task to reduce technical or business uncertainty (Correct answer)
- A user story that has been split into smaller sub-stories for a sprint
- An emergency story added to the sprint after sprint planning has concluded
Correct answer: A time-boxed research or exploration task to reduce technical or business uncertainty
A spike is a time-boxed task used to research or explore a problem domain to reduce uncertainty, enabling the team to estimate or implement a subsequent user story more confidently.
Question 5: Who has primary responsibility for ensuring acceptance criteria are defined for user stories?
- The Scrum Master
- The Development Team
- The Product Owner (Correct answer)
- The Business Analyst
Correct answer: The Product Owner
The Product Owner is primarily responsible for defining acceptance criteria, as they represent stakeholder needs and have authority to determine what constitutes a successful outcome.
Question 6: When is the best time to define acceptance criteria for a user story?
- After the story has been implemented and is ready for testing
- During sprint review when the completed story is demonstrated to stakeholders
- Before the story enters a sprint, ideally during backlog refinement (Correct answer)
- At the very start of the sprint during sprint planning
Correct answer: Before the story enters a sprint, ideally during backlog refinement
Acceptance criteria should be defined before development begins — ideally during backlog refinement — so the entire team understands what 'done' looks like before they start building.
Question 7: What does the 'N' in the INVEST acronym stand for?
- Necessary
- Negotiable (Correct answer)
- Non-functional
- Normalized
Correct answer: Negotiable
The 'N' in INVEST stands for Negotiable, meaning the details of a user story are open to discussion and collaboration between the team and stakeholders, not fixed requirements.
