User Stories
User Stories are a way of describing a requirement for a product or feature from the perspective of the user. They are short, concise descriptions of the functionality that a user needs, written in the user’s own words. A User Story should include:
- Description of the type of user
- Goal of the user
- Constraints on the solution
Core component of the Agile framework
User stories are a core compone of the Agile framework, representing the smallest unit of work within the framework.
User first
Importantly, a user story is written from the perspective of a user — it puts people at the center of attention, and in doing so, provides teams with a clear view of why they are building a product/feature, and the value this brings to the end user.
Non-technical language
The goal of a user story is to provide development teams with context — language in a user story is non-technical.
Writing user stories
Writing good user stories can be challenging, but it’s important to get them right. Here are some tips to help you write effective User Stories:
1. Start with the user: Put yourself in the user’s shoes and think about what they need from the product.
2. Make the story specific: Be sure to describe the user’s goal, the action they need to take, and the expected outcome.
3. Keep it simple: Don’t try to cram too much detail into a single user story.
4. Use the “As a… I want to… So that…” template: This template is a great way to ensure that you’re capturing all the important information.
- As a (who wants to accomplish something)
- I want to (what they want to accomplish)
- So that (why they want to accomplish that thing)
5. Make it measurable. Make sure the user story is measureable.
Other considerations
- Personas: If there are different types of personas, you’ll need different user stories.
- Incorporate customer feedback: Where possible, use language directly from your customers. Even better, source stories directly from your customers.
- Complexity/time: Complex user stories that may take beyond one sprint to complete should be broken up into multiple user stories. If they are super complex, you may need to make it an ‘epic’.
Benefits
Capturing and communicating user requirements.
User stories are a powerful way to effectively capture and communicate user requirements.
Stakeholders
They are a great way to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page and that everyone has a clear understanding of the product’s goals and objectives.
Creativity
User stories drive creative solutions because they force teams to think critically about their products.
Examples
As a new user, I want to be able to sign up for an account quickly and easily so that I can start using the product as soon as possible.
As a customer, I want to be able to pay for my order with a credit card so that I can complete my purchase quickly and securely.
As an admin, I want to be able to view reports of customer activity so that I can better understand user behavior.
As a customer, I want to be able to sort products by price and category so that I can easily find the items I‘m looking for.
As a user, I want to be able to save items to my wishlist for later purchase so that I can buy them when I‘m ready.
As a user, I want to be able to receive notifications when new products are released so that I can stay up to date on the latest offerings.
Summary
User stories are an essential part of the development process, providing clarity on the why and the what of a project. To begin using user stories, start by evaluating the next, or most pressing, large project (e.g. an epic) and breaking it down into smaller user stories. Work with the development team to ensure each user story is well understood and correctly expressed. Once your stories are visible to the whole team, you can start to build and test the product.