Intro to user stories
Now that you understand how initiatives, epics, stories, and themes fit together, we will explore stories in greater depth. A user story is the most well-known tool used to capture product features or functionality. In other words, it is an explanation of a product feature written from the user’s perspective. It describes how the different components of your product or service will provide value to the user.
Agile user stories
A user story forms one of the core components of an Agile project. It is the smallest unit of user functionality that can be delivered within one sprint. It must deliver value to the user, and it must be expressed in simple language that describes the intended outcome.
The basic components of a user story are the user’s role, the goal or desire, and the reason, as shown in this example:
The user or role represents one specific person or customer who is using that product, though this may be generalised to describe the user type. The goal is a short, simple description of a product feature. It is a simplified description of a customer’s requirement – i.e. what the user wants. The reason makes the request relevant: it explains why they want the help. Most importantly, the story is told from the perspective of the user.
Watch the video to learn how to write a great user story.
Key benefits of a user story
User stories can be fascinating in their own right because they create intimate snapshots of the person(s) who will benefit from the final product. They motivate and inspire teams to create better products or services users. Of course, user stories do not stand in isolation. We need to view them within the business context, and they should clearly articulate the value for both the user and the organisation.
A user story offers several key benefits:
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It keeps the focus on the user: While a to-do list keeps a team on task, a collection of user stories keeps the team focussed on solving issues for the real users.
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It ensures collaboration: The team works together and decides how best to serve the user rather than team members focussing on their individual tasks.
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It facilitates creative solutions: It helps the team to think out-of-the-box to serve the user’s requirements.
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It creates momentum: With each story being delivered, the development team gets the joy of accomplishment, which drives momentum and increases the motivation of the team. [1]
When developers, or other Scrum teams, do not meet the envisioned users face-to-face, they should still be able to understand them. A story should offer enough detail to help teams understand:
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what the user wants
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what features are important to them
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what the designers need to design
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what components are necessary for the design
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how the design creates value.
User stories help you plot the user’s journey with a product or service from start to end, including all the tasks they would complete in this journey.
Reflect and share
Do you have your own user story about a product? Share the product and the feature you would like to see built, then explain why this feature would be important for you.Share your response in the comments below.
References
1. Rehkopf M. Epics, Stories, Themes, and Initiatives [Internet]. Atlassian Agile coach; [date unknown]. Available from: https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/epics-stories-themes
Introduction to Agile Project Management
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