Writing User Stories

#scrum #userstories #agileteam

A user story helps scrum development teams capture simplified, high-level descriptions of a user's requirements written from the end user's perspective.

The purpose of a user story is to articulate how a piece of work will deliver a particular value back to the customer.

The user story template:

As a ..... - This is the WHO. → Who is the user?

I want ...... - This is the WHAT. → What are we building? What is the intention?

So that ..... - This is the WHY. → Why are we building it? What is the value for the customer?

Example:

As a busy working parent,

I want to organize my work,

so I can feel more in control.

Three C's of a User Story:

Card - Stories are traditionally written on notecards, and these cards can be annotated with extra details.

Conversation - Details behind the story come out through conversations between developers, Product Owners, Scrum Master, and the stakeholders. The conversations are helping in getting a shared understanding of the requirement and leading to the development of the product.

Confirmation - The acceptance test confirms the story is finished and working as intended.

Acceptance criteria:

Acceptance criteria define the boundaries of a user story, by providing detailed scope of a user's requirements and are used to confirm when a story is completed and working as intended.

Acceptance criteria are written in simple language, just like the user story, and help the team understand the story's value. When the development team has finished working on the user story they demonstrate the functionality to the Product Owner. While doing this they show how they have satisfied each one of the criteria.

User stories help with:

1. Shifting focus from writing detailed requirements to serving as a placeholder for future conversations.

2. Reducing interpretations by enabling verbal communication which is far more precise.

3. Improving overall understanding of the goals of the end user to come up with better solutions for the highest value delivery.

4. Planning team members' work.

5. Estimating the effort which helps with prioritization.