Story Critic is a free AI coach for improving backlog items without turning them into miniature specifications. It helps developers, testers, analysts, designers, and product owners make user stories, job stories, and technical stories better conversation starters while clarifying what “done” means.
The Story Critic makes two separate judgments about each item: how strong it is as written and whether its level of detail fits its position in the backlog. A lightweight story can be right for lower-priority work, while an item intended for near-term delivery needs enough clarity to support refinement, estimation, and implementation.
What Story Critic Looks For
- Outcome clarity: What changes for the user or system when the work is complete?
- Scope focus: Does the item express one idea or bundle several objectives together?
- Testability: Can the team recognize and verify when the item is done?
- Backlog fit: Is the amount of detail appropriate for when the work is likely to begin?
Use Story Critic before refinement to surface the most important questions, while splitting stories to check that scope has genuinely narrowed, or before sprint planning to find near-term items that are still too light. Its feedback is coaching, not a verdict: the goal is a clearer team conversation and a more workable backlog.
