Agile Pantry
Practice

Example Mapping

From BDD, Matt Wynne

A 25-minute conversation per story that uses coloured cards for rules, examples and questions, so the team agrees what ‘done’ means before building.

Meeting time 0.5 h/wkLearning curve Easy

Helps with

bugs and reworkunpredictable deliveryunclear priorities

Pairs well with

Backlog RefinementTest-Driven DevelopmentDefinition of Done

Why it exists

Reach a shared understanding of a story, meaning its rules, examples and open questions, in one short conversation before anyone builds it.

Why it works

Concrete examples expose misunderstandings that abstract requirements hide. A 25-minute timebox, and simply counting the cards, tells you early whether a story is too big (many rules) or not yet understood (many questions), before building has cost anything.

Before you start

  • Product, development and testing perspectives can meet together.
  • Stories near the top of the backlog are candidates for the next cycle.

Don’t use it when

  • The change is trivial and well understood.
  • The work is a research spike with no defined behaviour yet.

Set it up for your context

If your team…Then
Many red question cardsThe story isn’t ready. Someone takes the questions away and the story comes back later.
Many blue rule cardsThe story is too big. Split it along its rules.
Regulated workTurn the green examples into acceptance tests that double as traceability evidence.
Remote teamUse an online whiteboard with four card colours.

How to introduce it

  1. Write the story on a yellow card.
  2. Add each business rule on a blue card.
  3. Under each rule, add concrete examples on green cards.
  4. Capture open questions on red cards.
  5. Stop at 25 minutes and take a thumbs vote: is it ready?
  6. Turn the examples into acceptance tests.

Variations

Three amigos
The same three perspectives in a less structured conversation.
Gherkin scenarios
Formalise examples as Given–When–Then tests after the session.

Common failure modes

Endless sessions

You’ll notice Conversations drag past an hour.

Fix Keep the 25-minute timebox; overrunning is itself a sign the story needs splitting.

Developers only

You’ll notice Product and testing perspectives are missing.

Fix All three perspectives are required, or the session is postponed.

Examples forgotten

You’ll notice The cards are thrown away after the session.

Fix Every example becomes an acceptance test.

Signs it’s working

  • Fewer stories bounce back from testing.
  • Fewer “that’s not what I meant” defects.
  • Refinement gets faster over time.

What it costs

Setting up
Minimal: four colours of cards or a digital board.
Ongoing
About 25 minutes per story.

How it connects

Sources