Story Kickoff

A short session held before work on a story or ticket begins, where the team discusses what is being built, clarifies acceptance criteria, and surfaces questions or assumptions. A kickoff that leaves questions unanswered or feels vague is itself a signal, often marking a change as worth deeper exploratory testing later. Treating the kickoff as a quality activity, rather than a formality, helps catch ambiguity while it is still cheap to resolve.

For example: agreeing extra acceptance criteria before any code is written; noting outstanding questions that nobody could answer in the room; or flagging a story as one to test more thoroughly because the kickoff felt unsatisfying.