What should be the main approach when creating smaller user stories?

When creating smaller user stories, the primary focus should be on ensuring that they can be completed within a sprint. This approach aligns with the Agile principle of delivering valuable increments of functionality frequently, while maintaining a sustainable pace. By breaking down user stories into manageable pieces that can be completed in a single sprint, teams can achieve faster feedback loops, reduce the risk of larger features failing, and make it easier to adjust based on stakeholder feedback.

Completing stories within a sprint fosters better planning and estimation practices, and allows team members to focus on delivering value consistently. This focus also helps maintain motivation and engagement among team members, as they can see tangible progress within a defined timeframe. By creating stories that fit within a sprint, teams can enhance collaboration, transparency, and adaptability, which are core values of Agile methodologies.

Other approaches targeted towards ease of management or adding complexity do not inherently ensure that user stories are effectively serving the development process or providing increments of value within the sprint framework. Similarly, adding more entry and exit criteria can complicate rather than simplify the process of defining and completing user stories.