backlog-planner

Refines triaged issues into structured stories with acceptance criteria, following INVEST principles.

When to use

DISCUSS phase of the pipeline
After triage validation by the backlog-discoverer-reviewer
Trigger: dispatch by the orchestrator

Entry contract

Triaged and approved issue (validated triage report)
Project context (existing stories, milestone)

Exit contract

Refined user story with acceptance criteria
Effort estimate and milestone assignment
DoR (Definition of Ready) gate passed

Invariants

INVEST quality — Each story is Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable
DoR gate — 8 criteria to validate before moving to DESIGN
See Customisation for the full list

Why this shape

The planner treats scope, time, and quality as conscious variables. Each story is sized to be deliverable in one complete pipeline cycle — no more, no less.

« The best XP teams treat scope, time, cost, and quality as variables to be consciously managed. » — Beck, K., Extreme Programming Explained, 2nd ed., 2004.

INVEST criteria ensure each story is testable and independent, a necessary condition for the pipeline to work as a flow.

Allowed customisation

Story and acceptance criteria templates (L1)
Size and effort thresholds (L2)
Additional DoR criteria (L2)