Story Readiness Workflows

Get stories sprint-ready before dev starts.

Three workflows that ensure stories are fully specified, technically refined, and test-planned before a single line of code is written. Each role adds their section to the Jira ticket.

The Problem

Vague stories lead to scope creep, missed edge cases, and rework. When stories enter a sprint without clear acceptance criteria, technical refinement, or test plans, developers fill in the gaps on the fly — and every assumption is a risk.

Vague ACs

“User can log in” — but what about SSO, MFA, session expiry, rate limiting?

Missing technical context

No architecture notes, no API contracts, no affected components. Dev starts from scratch.

No test plan

QE discovers edge cases after implementation. Rework and delayed releases.

Three roles. Three workflows. One sprint-ready story.

Each workflow adds a layer of specification to the Jira ticket, building on what the previous role produced.

Story Readiness Pipeline

/story-draft/story-engineer/story-qaSprint Ready/feature-build

How it works

1

Generate story workflows

Run the story generator to create workflows tailored to your team's Jira setup and definition of ready.

2

Draft the story

Product owner runs /story-draft with a concept or existing ticket. The workflow auto-reads linked Confluence PRDs, creates PRD-traced ACs, scope boundaries, coverage analysis, and recommends additional stories for uncovered requirements.

3

Engineer the story

Developer runs /story-engineer on the drafted ticket. Adds architecture notes, affected components, API contracts, risks, and implementation sub-tasks.

4

QA the story

QE runs /story-qa on the engineered ticket. Adds test plan across 5 layers, test data requirements, edge case datasets, and coverage targets.

5

Hand off to development

The story is sprint-ready. Run /feature-build with the ticket ID and the development workflow has full context from day one.

Workflow Comparison

AspectStory DraftStory EngineerStory QA
RoleProduct OwnerDeveloperQE / SDET
InputConcept, epic/story, or Confluence PRDDrafted story + Confluence API specsEngineered story + Confluence specs
OutputPRD-traced ACs, scope, edge cases, coverage matrixArchitecture, components, API contracts, sub-tasksTest plan (5 layers), test data, coverage targets
Phases~6 phases~5 phases~6 phases
SignalSTORY_DRAFTEDSTORY_ENGINEEREDSTORY_SPRINT_READY

Deep Dives