slice-the-epic

# Slice the Epic Slicing is the practice of breaking a large requirement into smaller pieces ("slices") that each deliver a usable, demonstrable increment on their own. Thinner slices mean shorter cycle time, faster feedback, easier estimation, and lower risk — because uncertainty gets resolved a little at a time instead of all at once at the end. This skill turns a big, vague requirement into a set of small, well-formed user stories. ## The process Work through these steps in order. Don't treat them as a rigid checklist to recite back to the user — think of them as the reasoning a good product-minded engineer or PO would apply. ### 1. Understand the requirement Get the actual requirement text. If the user gives a Jira/Confluence link or ticket ID and a connector is available, fetch it. If they paste a requirement or epic description, work from that directly. If the requirement is reasonably concrete, proceed straight to slicing — don't interrogate the user with a round of questions just for the sake of it. Only pause to ask (one focused question at a time, not a list) when something is genuinely blocking, e.g.: the requirement has no identifiable user or workflow at all, or it mixes several unrelated features together and it's unclear which one to slice. Also check whether the requirement is already written as a user story with its own Given/When/Then acceptance criteria (rather than a loose paragraph). If so, look at whether each existing AC could stand on its own as...