CURB

[kərb]

Definition of CURB

An acronym that stands for Complex, Unknown, Risky or Big. CURB is a mnemonic to help you remember how to determine if a functional Story is actually an Epic.

See:

Epic A Backlog Item that is too Complex, Unknown, Risky, or Big (CURB) for the Team to agree to do all at once; A named Container of other Epics and Stories.

Examples

Epics are often CURBs since they are a container of stories, and we tend to refer to any container of stories as an epic. Stories often masquerade as epics until we identify more than one simple clear test for each story. A simple clear test helps us decide where to cleave stories into manageable work pieces.

Discussion

Complex

 The item might be too complex to be understood well enough to be committed to.

Unknown

 Perhaps nobody on the team knows enough about the story. The story maybe unknown which does not allow the story to be committed to by the team, hence, it is an epic.

Risky

 There are too many unknowns; it is too risky to commit to the story without further investigation or a mitigation strategy.

Big

 It could just be too big to do in one sprint, even though it is well understood.

Cite This Term

"CURB" ScrumDictionary.com. Accessed Apr 18, 2024. https://scrumdictionary.com/term/curb/.