Which of the following is NOT one of the verification steps before merging a user story to the develop branch?

The verification steps before merging a user story to the develop branch typically emphasize ensuring that the code changes meet quality standards and function as intended. Running all automated unit tests for the feature helps to confirm that the new code does not introduce any regressions or bugs. Conducting a peer review of the changes allows for additional scrutiny from other developers, which can enhance code quality and adherence to best practices. Merging user story branches to develop frequently encourages steady integration of new changes, reducing the complexity and potential conflicts that can arise with larger merges later on.

Running performance benchmarks against the current release, while beneficial in certain contexts, is not a standard verification step specifically tied to merging user stories to the develop branch. This step is often more relevant when assessing the overall application performance or during specific performance tuning, rather than as a part of the immediate code merging process. Thus, focusing on unit tests, peer reviews, and frequent merges are more aligned with typical development practices aimed at maintaining code quality during the integration phase.