Sure it could have said something like “As an instructor, I want a sandwich I can eat so that I won’t pass out in the afternoon from either lack of eating or too many carbs.” He didn’t use the “right” form. On the other hand, he got the idea across. However, he wasn’t done just yet.

He added a few acceptance criterion (or as Mike Cohn is now saying, “Conditions of Satisfaction” [I Like that better]).

• Extra tomatoes
• Extra jalapenos
• Nothing else – written but not recorded…

You might argue that the following things were actually conditions of satisfaction as well:

• 6”
• Turkey
• Wheat bread

I’d argue back, I satisfied the customer so bug off. And it really misses the point of a card as a placeholder for a conversation, which we had.

Even with all of these written details, the request could seem a bit ambiguous, right? Was this in addition to other stuff? Is there a “regular or default” amount of stuff to which we’re adding additional constraints? Since we had a conversation it was clear to the implementer at the time (me). And since I was able to implement the use story before I lost the context , nothing more was required.

So off I went. When I finally found the place I had some time to wait in line. I didn’t notice any jalapenos and I started to wonder what I should do. I then though, well wouldn’t he like some other stuff as well. I mean I like a lot of stuff on my sandwiches, doesn’t he? Shouldn’t every sandwich have ranch dressing? What could I substitute for the missing jalapenos? Maybe I could give him a call. Of course did I mention I’m in Houston? In the basement of a skyscraper ordering food? Much like in the North the buildings are connected to keep out the elements – cold in that case, so too are the buildings in downtown – it gets hot but more importantly sticky. Turns out I didn’t have cell service.

Anyway, what was I doing in line? I was gold-plating his lunch. The only time you should consume gold is when you’re drinking Goldschlager. When is that? ... seldom – maybe during college, .

What do you do in this situation? You might be the kind of person who, like me, likes to leave things open until well after it time to make a decision. My motto is “No matter how important it is today, it’ll be more important tomorrow. Until it isn’t.” You might be the kind of person who tends to prefer things be resolved. (If you’re familiar with the MBTI, that’s Perceiving versus Judging – but be careful of those words, their definitions in that context are idiosyncratic.)

Well given our conversation, the card which I held in my back pocket and the confirmation in the form of mostly written conditions of satisfaction, I just went with it. Besides, I was pretty sure they had jalipinos. I’m in Texas three things are required:

• Cowboy hats
• Bolo ties
• jalapenos.

How often have you been tempted to add ranch dressing, oregano, black olives and bell peppers to your code?