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Agent skill

User Story Splitting

by deanpeters in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills

Breaks an oversized story or epic into independently deliverable pieces using eight proven splitting patterns.

Custom licenceAuto-check passedProduct & Project Management

Install User Story Splitting

skills CLI
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill user-story-splitting -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills user-story-splitting --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/user-story-splitting .claude/skills/user-story-splitting && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
user-story-splitting
GitHub stars
7.2k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~3.2k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,596 words
Files
4
Skills in repo
75
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Custom licence

At a glance

Breaks an oversized story or epic into independently deliverable pieces using eight proven splitting patterns.

  • Works in 4 steps: Identify the Original Story → Apply the Splitting Logic → Write the Split Stories → …
  • A backlog item is too big to estimate or finish in one sprint
  • SKILL.md covers Purpose, Input, Key Concepts and Application, plus 3 more sections
  • Reaches github.com

What it does

Richard Lawrence and Peter Green's eight patterns cover most situations: splitting along workflow steps, business rule variations, data variations, acceptance-criteria complexity, major effort or technical milestones, external dependencies, DevOps steps, and, when none of those fit, small Tiny Acts of Discovery that unpack what's still unknown. The point is strategic decomposition that keeps user value intact rather than arbitrary slicing, so each resulting piece is still independently estimable, testable, and shippable.

When your agent uses it

  • A backlog item is too big to estimate or finish in one sprint
  • Deciding how to slice a story without losing its user value
  • Unpacking an epic that has too many acceptance criteria to ship at once

Example prompts

  • “Split this: admins bulk-import users from CSV, Excel, or our HR system.”
  • “This epic has six acceptance criteria, how should we slice it?”
  • “We can't estimate this story, help us break it into smaller pieces.”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Identify the Original Story
  2. Apply the Splitting Logic
  3. Write the Split Stories
  4. Validate the Splits

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1b5a524. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

    • github.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

User Story Splitting loads about 3.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 49 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,596 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~49
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~3.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,596 words (~3,194 tokens).

“Break down large user stories, epics, or features into smaller, independently deliverable stories using systematic splitting patterns. Use this to make work more manageable, reduce risk, enable faster feedback cycles, and maintain flow in agile development. This skill applies to…”

— opening of SKILL.md by deanpeters, Custom licence
name
user-story-splitting
argument-hint
[story or epic to split]
intent
Break down large user stories, epics, or features into smaller, independently deliverable stories using systematic splitting patterns. Use this to make work…
type
component
theme
pm-artifacts
best_for
Breaking a story that's too big to estimate or finish in a sprint, Applying proven split patterns instead of splitting by component, Keeping each slice…
scenarios
This story is too big for a sprint and splitting by frontend/backend isn't working, Our backlog items keep carrying over — I need real split patterns
estimated_time
15-25 min

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files in skills/user-story-splitting of deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • examples/sample-industrial.md
  • examples/sample.md
  • template.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1b5a524

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

User Story Splitting next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

User Story Splitting compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
User Story Splitting this skilldeanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills7.2k1 repos~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Ralph Tui Create Beadssubsy/ralph-tui2.5k1 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Agile Product Owneralirezarezvani/claude-skills28k3 repos~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Ralph Tui Create Beads Rustsubsy/ralph-tui2.5k1 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
To Specbestofjs/bestofjs3.1k21 repos~757Automated safety check: PassMIT
Ralph Tui Create JSONsubsy/ralph-tui2.5k1 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Prioritization Framework Advisor

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  • Strategic Roadmap Planning

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  • User Story Mapping

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Categories

Questions about User Story Splitting

What does User Story Splitting do?

Breaks an oversized story or epic into independently deliverable pieces using eight proven splitting patterns. Richard Lawrence and Peter Green's eight patterns cover most situations: splitting along workflow steps, business rule variations, data variations, acceptance-criteria complexity, major effort or technical milestones, external dependencies, DevOps steps, and, when none of those fit, small Tiny Acts of Discovery that unpack what's still unknown. The point is strategic decomposition that keeps user value intact rather than arbitrary slicing, so each resulting piece is still independently estimable, testable, and shippable.

When should I use User Story Splitting?

User Story Splitting fits situations like: A backlog item is too big to estimate or finish in one sprint; deciding how to slice a story without losing its user value; unpacking an epic that has too many acceptance criteria to ship at once.

How do I install User Story Splitting in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill user-story-splitting -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/user-story-splitting in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills) into .claude/skills/user-story-splitting in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install User Story Splitting in Codex?

Run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill user-story-splitting -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/user-story-splitting in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills) into .agents/skills/user-story-splitting in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use User Story Splitting in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill user-story-splitting -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/user-story-splitting, .gemini/skills/user-story-splitting, .github/skills/user-story-splitting and .opencode/skills/user-story-splitting in your project.

What does User Story Splitting need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: User Story Splitting is instructions for the agent only.

Does User Story Splitting access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: github.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is User Story Splitting safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does User Story Splitting use?

User Story Splitting has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.

How many tokens does User Story Splitting use?

About 3.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 13k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to User Story Splitting?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with User Story Splitting: Ralph Tui Create Beads (subsy/ralph-tui, 2.5k stars), Agile Product Owner (alirezarezvani/claude-skills, 28k stars), Ralph Tui Create Beads Rust (subsy/ralph-tui, 2.5k stars) and To Spec (bestofjs/bestofjs, 3.1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains User Story Splitting?

deanpeters (a GitHub user) maintains it in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, which has 7,224 GitHub stars. The repository holds 75 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 1, 2026.

Source: deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.