User Stories

Learning Objectives

User Stories

What are User Stories?

Agile software development focusses on putting people first. User stories are a way of expressing functional requirements to enable software developers to envisage how end-users will interact with their application in its real-world context.

User stories often take the following form:

As a <role>, I can <capability> so that <receive benefit>

For example:

User Story Example

User stories don't go into detail, they consist of just a few sentences that describe the desired outcome.

Who writes User Stories?

Anyone involved in the development of the product can write user stories! Customers, Product Owners and developers can all get involved. If the customer isn't involved directly in writing them, they're usually based off conversations with the customer. Once they're written, often the customer will take the set of user stories and decide which to prioritise.

Why should we write User Stories?

As mentioned, user stories help developers think about the application in its actual context. Often, user stories are written on physical cards and pinned on a board in the workspace. One of the primary motivations for writing user stories is to stimulate conversations between people working on the app.

Assignment

In groups, document 10 user stories based on your chosen opportunity. Ensure you cover the needs of each of the Personas you created in the previous lesson. Be ready to share these with the class and your coach.