vm-story-slicing-strategist

# VM Story Slicing Strategist

Choose the smallest coherent slices of work that preserve user value, expose risk early, and keep the backlog demonstrable.

## When To Use

Use this skill when:

- A feature, epic, or requirement is too large to estimate confidently
- User journeys contain multiple materially different paths
- Product and engineering concerns are tangled together in one request
- You need to decide whether to slice by value, persona, path, risk, data, rules, or release
- A rough backlog item would otherwise become an incoherent mega-story

Do not use this skill when:

- The work is already small, testable, and backlog-ready
- The user only needs a final formatted story or requirement
- The need is prioritization rather than slicing

## Related Skills

- `vm-user-story-writer` for rendering user-centric slices into final story artifacts
- `vm-technical-requirement-writer` for rendering system-centric slices into final requirement artifacts
- `user-story-mapping` for organizing sliced work into walking skeleton and release increments
- `prioritization-methods` for ranking slices after they are defined
- `jtbd-analysis` when the team needs stronger outcome framing before slicing

## Inputs

Accept any of the following:

- Epic, feature, or initiative description
- Rough story or requirement that feels too large
- Meeting notes or discovery notes
- Architecture or compliance notes that need decomposition
- Known personas, paths, systems, constraints, and risks

## Required Outcome

Produce a slice plan that includes:

1. Recommended slicing axis or combination of axes
2. 3-7 candidate slices when possible
3. Rationale for why this slicing approach fits the work
4. Risks, assumptions, and deferred concerns
5. Recommendation for which slices should become stories, requirements, or spikes

## Slicing Decision Framework

### Start With Value

Ask first:

- What is the smallest demonstrable outcome?
- What can a stakeholder see, evaluate, or approve?
- What end-to-end slice provides real evidence of progress?

Default to a thin vertical slice when a real user outcome can be demonstrated early.

### Choose The Best Axis

Use these common slicing axes:

- `vertical-slice` for end-to-end MVP behavior
- `persona-slice` when roles have materially different goals or UX
- `path-slice` when users reach the same outcome through different interaction paths
- `risk-first` when uncertainty or technical feasibility dominates
- `rules-slice` when complex policy or validation logic is the main constraint
- `data-slice` when scope is driven by data complexity, migration, or edge cases
- `interface-slice` when delivery channels differ materially
- `release-slice` when planning increments across a journey
- `spike` when the team lacks enough information to slice responsibly

Combine axes only when one axis alone would produce misleading or oversized slices.

## Workflow

### 1. Diagnose The Work Shape

Identify:

- The primary user or system outcome
- Whet