How should an agile BA practitioner respond when a business representative suggests decomposing larger User Stories immediately?

The suggestion to wait until the items are closer to implementation aligns well with Agile principles and practices that emphasize collaboration, flexibility, and incremental delivery. In Agile methodologies, larger User Stories, also known as epics, often need further clarification and decomposition into smaller, more manageable stories.

By postponing the decomposition until the stories are closer to implementation, the agile BA practitioner allows the team to gather more necessary insights from ongoing discussions, stakeholder input, and changing requirements. This practice ensures that the resulting smaller stories are more refined and accurately reflect current needs, helping to prevent unnecessary rework or shifts in scope later on.

This approach also aligns with the concept of just-in-time requirements, where the focus is on understanding and addressing user needs as they become more immediate and relevant. It minimizes the risk of creating stories that might be irrelevant or overly detailed before the team is ready to act on them, promoting efficiency and greater alignment with user expectations.