Example Mapping

Use Example Mapping to make a story's scope and acceptance criteria concrete before development. Keep the conversation about behaviour, not implementation.

Map the story

1. Put the user story at the top of the map.
2. Capture each acceptance rule or constraint beneath it.
3. Add concrete examples under the rule they illustrate. Include boundary and failure cases when they materially change behaviour.
4. Record unanswered questions and explicit assumptions separately; do not invent an answer to keep the session moving.
5. Split out newly discovered work that is outside the story's scope.

Use this compact layout in a document, whiteboard, or cards: