Planning Poker Template
Story Decomposition Workshop
Identify which epics need breaking down before the sprint starts
Use T-shirt sizing to quickly flag stories that are too large to complete in a single sprint. Any story sized XL or XXL is a signal to decompose it into smaller, independently deliverable pieces. This workshop surfaces hidden complexity early, reduces half-done work at sprint end, and improves forecast accuracy over time.
Deck type
t-shirt
Duration
45 minutes
Team size
4–8 people
Estimation focus
Relative size and deliverability
Steps
- 01List all epics and large stories from the upcoming roadmap
- 02Vote T-shirt size for each item (XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL)
- 03Reveal and flag any XL or XXL items for decomposition
- 04Workshop each flagged item into 2–5 smaller stories
- 05Re-size the child stories to confirm they fit in a sprint
- 06Update the backlog with the decomposed stories
When to use
At the start of a new quarter or before a major feature build. Run this before backlog refinement so only sprint-sized stories enter the refinement queue.
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