Story Writing Workshop
Improve The Backlog Items Your Team Needs Next
Story Writing Workshop is a focused, hands-on working session in which participants improve backlog items they already need to refine, plan, or deliver.
Chosen by companies in SaaS, Healthcare, Government, Consulting, Financial Services, Retail, Energy, and more.
High-Priority Items That Are Not Ready To Move
- Important items are too vague to plan or too large to fit within a sprint
- The team keeps circling around the same unanswered questions
- Acceptance criteria are missing, unclear, or inconsistent
- Participants disagree about whether an item should be rewritten, split, deferred, or explored
- Hidden assumptions emerge after development begins
- Upcoming planning conversations depend on items that still need focused work
High-Priority Items The Team Can Act On
- Clarify the user, customer, or business need behind each item
- Make hidden assumptions and unanswered questions visible
- Rewrite or restructure items so the team can understand and discuss them
- Split oversized work into smaller, useful increments
- Add acceptance criteria where they improve shared understanding
- Leave with improved items and clear next steps for continued refinement
Why This Workshop Is Different
What The Team Will Accomplish
Clarify The Need Behind Each Item — Identify the user, customer, or business need the work should address.
Improve Selected Backlog Items — Rewrite or restructure items so they are easier for the team to understand and discuss.
Split Oversized Work — Identify smaller, useful increments that can move forward independently.
Add Useful Acceptance Criteria — Clarify important behavior and boundaries without creating unnecessary documentation.
Identify Questions And Next Steps — Make unresolved assumptions visible and determine what must happen before each item can move forward.
How The Workshop Works
Before the session, the client selects a small number of high-priority backlog items that need focused attention. During the workshop, participants work with a Mountain Goat facilitator to improve those items together.
The focus is on useful progress. The group clarifies needs, surfaces assumptions, splits oversized work, adds acceptance criteria where they help, and identifies what each item needs next.
- 90-minute private working session
- Delivered live online or in person
- Built around selected backlog items
- For product owners and others involved in refinement
- Configured around the items and decisions that need attention
- Leaves the team with improved items and clear next steps
Workshop Outline
- Selecting high-priority backlog items
- Clarifying users, needs, and outcomes
- Hidden assumptions and questions
- Rewriting and restructuring items
- Story splitting
- Acceptance criteria
- Next steps for refinement
Resources Participants Can Keep Using
Participants receive tools and resources they can continue using after the workshop, including:
- MGS AI Toolkit for story writing, story splitting, and backlog-item feedback
- Practical prompts for clarifying needs and uncovering hidden assumptions
- Story-splitting and acceptance-criteria guidance participants can use during future refinement
Built On The Work Behind User Stories Applied
Story Writing Workshop draws on the techniques Mike Cohn introduced and developed in User Stories Applied, along with more than 25 years of experience helping teams apply those techniques to real product work.
Participants use practical approaches to clarifying, splitting, and refining backlog items with a facilitator who understands how those techniques work in real delivery environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do We Use Our Own Backlog Items?
Yes. The workshop is built around a selected set of backlog items your team already needs to clarify, split, or prepare.
Which Story Or Backlog Workshop Is Right For Us?
Story Writing Workshop is a focused 90-minute working session for improving selected items. Mastering User Stories builds broader shared skills. Backlog Refinement Workshop improves how the team approaches refinement overall.
We can help you choose based on whether your immediate need is better current stories, broader skill development, or a stronger refinement process.
Is This Workshop Only For Product Owners?
No. Product owners often participate, but story writing is collaborative. Developers, Scrum Masters, analysts, testers, designers, and relevant stakeholders may all contribute.
How Many Backlog Items Will We Improve?
That depends on their size and complexity. We choose a small, useful set in advance and focus on making meaningful progress rather than rushing through a large number of items.
Can The Workshop Be Customized?
Yes. The session is configured around your product, participants, selected backlog items, and the decisions the team needs to make.