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Atomic User Story Framework
A method for breaking complex features into small, independent user stories that can be completed within a single AI context window with clear, testable acceptance criteria
How It Works
Each story must be completable in one iteration (within ~168k token context), have verifiable success conditions, and be independent of other stories to enable parallel or sequential autonomous completion
Components
Start with overall feature description in PRD
Break into smallest possible independent units
Write specific, testable acceptance criteria for each
Order stories by logical dependency
Ensure each story fits in single context window
Validate criteria can be automatically tested
When to Use
When preparing work for autonomous AI agents, when building complex features, when you need clear progress tracking and rollback capability
When Not to Use
For simple one-off tasks, when stories are inherently interdependent, when acceptance criteria cannot be clearly defined
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“Instead of 'Build user dashboard', create atomic stories: 'Add user table with name/email columns', 'Create dashboard route returning user data', 'Add dashboard template displaying user name', 'Implement logout button with session clear'”