How would you break a large epic into sprint-ready user stories?

This tests whether you can turn vague, large-scope epics into vertical, sprint-sized stories that deliver user value. A strong answer starts with story mapping to identify personas and key user journeys; slices the epic into end-to-end, shippable increments rather than horizontal technical layers; ensures each story meets INVEST criteria with clear acceptance criteria; and sequences work by business value, dependencies, and risk. Red flag: decomposing by technical layer such as database schema first, backend API second, and frontend UI last.