What Is Three Amigos and Why Do It?

If you've ever seen the classic '80s comedy ¡Three Amigos!, you know it’s about three out-of-their-depth actors mistaken for real heroes. In Agile development, our Three Amigos aren’t fighting bandits in a Mexican village—but they are here to save your team from misunderstandings, rework, and bad surprises! What Is the Three Amigos? The Three Amigos is a short but crucial meeting where three key perspectives align before development starts: The Business Rep (Product Owner or Business Analyst) – Ensures the feature solves the right problem. The Developer – Figures out how to build it and highlights any tech challenges. The Tester (QA Engineer or Test Analyst) – Focuses on how we’ll know it actually works. Together, they hash out the details, clear up confusion, and make sure everyone is on the same page before code starts flying. When (and Why) We Do a Three Amigos Some teams do this as part of backlog refinement, but our team has found it works best just after a developer picks up a story—but always before a pull request is raised. Here’s why: The Perks of This Timing: Deeper Code Insight – The developer has already had a peek at the code, so they can ask smarter questions. More Accurate Estimates – If it turns out the work is bigger than expected, we can re-point the story before it’s too late. Less Rework – Catching issues early means fewer painful surprises during review. Better Test Coverage – The tester can call out sneaky edge cases before they become bugs. How We Run a Three Amigos A developer picks up a story – They review the requirements and dig into the code. We schedule a Three Amigos meeting – The developer, business rep, and tester chat about the feature. Key takeaways from the meeting: Adjust acceptance criteria if needed. Spot any missing edge cases. Re-point the story if effort has changed. Agree on how to build and test it. Development kicks off – The dev codes with confidence, knowing there won’t be surprises. No pull request without a Three Amigos! – This ensures we’ve all agreed before code lands in review. The Bottom Line The Three Amigos meeting is like a safety net for Agile teams—it keeps stories clear, effort realistic, and testing solid. By holding it right after picking up a story, our team has seen fewer blockers, better collaboration, and a lot less "Oh no, we didn’t think of that!" moments. If you’re not doing it yet, give it a shot—your future self (and your testers) will thank you! What’s your team’s approach to the Three Amigos? Let’s discuss!

Mar 21, 2025 - 18:26

If you've ever seen the classic '80s comedy ¡Three Amigos!, you know it’s about three out-of-their-depth actors mistaken for real heroes. In Agile development, our Three Amigos aren’t fighting bandits in a Mexican village—but they are here to save your team from misunderstandings, rework, and bad surprises!

What Is the Three Amigos?

The Three Amigos is a short but crucial meeting where three key perspectives align before development starts:

The Business Rep (Product Owner or Business Analyst) – Ensures the feature solves the right problem.
The Developer – Figures out how to build it and highlights any tech challenges.
The Tester (QA Engineer or Test Analyst) – Focuses on how we’ll know it actually works.

Together, they hash out the details, clear up confusion, and make sure everyone is on the same page before code starts flying.

When (and Why) We Do a Three Amigos

Some teams do this as part of backlog refinement, but our team has found it works best just after a developer picks up a story—but always before a pull request is raised. Here’s why:

The Perks of This Timing:

Deeper Code Insight – The developer has already had a peek at the code, so they can ask smarter questions.
More Accurate Estimates – If it turns out the work is bigger than expected, we can re-point the story before it’s too late.
Less Rework – Catching issues early means fewer painful surprises during review.
Better Test Coverage – The tester can call out sneaky edge cases before they become bugs.

How We Run a Three Amigos

A developer picks up a story – They review the requirements and dig into the code.
We schedule a Three Amigos meeting – The developer, business rep, and tester chat about the feature.
Key takeaways from the meeting:
- Adjust acceptance criteria if needed.
- Spot any missing edge cases.
- Re-point the story if effort has changed.
- Agree on how to build and test it.
Development kicks off – The dev codes with confidence, knowing there won’t be surprises.
No pull request without a Three Amigos! – This ensures we’ve all agreed before code lands in review.

The Bottom Line

The Three Amigos meeting is like a safety net for Agile teams—it keeps stories clear, effort realistic, and testing solid. By holding it right after picking up a story, our team has seen fewer blockers, better collaboration, and a lot less "Oh no, we didn’t think of that!" moments. If you’re not doing it yet, give it a shot—your future self (and your testers) will thank you!

What’s your team’s approach to the Three Amigos? Let’s discuss!