Ever wonder about Agile user story components or user story elements? In waterfall, we are generally familiar with user requirements. They are often compiled into a document that lists the business and technical needs of a project. However, in Agile, requirements take a different form. These are expressed in the form of stories.
When you write user stories, the temptation may be to simply write out a sentence that tells what you are going to do without giving thought to structure or the level of detail. However, a story needs to serve a bigger purpose. It needs to clarify exactly what you are going to create, who it is going to serve, and how you will know that it is complete. For this reason, there are critical user story components that need to be included.
What is a user story in agile development?
A user story in agile development captures the user’s requirements detail from their view and simplifies the work of agile development teams.
Five critical user story elements
Here are five critical elements of an Agile user story that will ensure you have covered what is needed for successful completion. To illustrate, let us use the simple example of someone who wants to sign up to be notified of daily restaurant specials.
1. Story name
You will create multiple Agile user stories through the course of your project, so you need to be able to identify them easily when prioritizing. The story name should be a very short title that lets you and others know what the story is about. If you are writing a story about getting notified of daily restaurant specials, you may title your story “Sign up for mailing list.”
2. User role
Identify the role of the user for whom the story is written. This gives you the perspective and point of view for the story. This also helps you identify what the user may be interested in doing. In the case of our example, the user is a customer.
3. Achievable action
Identify the business value the user hopes to gain. This lets you narrow the focus of your story. Your user will likely have many things they want to do. By narrowing your focus, you can write a story that you can clearly define and complete with less ambiguity. In the restaurant example, the user wants to add their name to a mailing list for the restaurant.
This also prompts more conversation around the story. It encourages the team to ask questions that help further define the story. The team needs to know how the user will get their name on that mailing list and how they will know that they have successfully completed the action.
4. Desired business value
This user story component tells you the value the user hopes to obtain. In our example story, the customer ultimately wants to get the value of receiving information about daily restaurant specials.
Now that you have identified the three user story components or elements in a value statement, you can write them out in sentence format: Here is the format to use for writing your user story:
As a <USER ROLE> I want to <ACTIVITY> so that <DESIRED BUSINESS VALUE>.
Here is what it looks like applied to our example:
As a customer, I want to sign up for a mailing list so that I can be notified of daily restaurant specials.
5. Acceptance criteria
Even though you know what your user wants, you need to be able to say when the story is complete. The acceptance criteria helps you know when you have successfully completed the story. Your team will identify what it will mean when the story has been completed.
For our example, acceptance criteria may be the following:
Ensure the customer is able to:
- See the sign-up form on the website and add their email address.
- Receive confirmation message on the web page that their email address has been added.
- Receive a confirmation email that they have been added to the mailing list.
Improve Agile user stories with continued practice
Writing user stories is a group effort and takes practice. Your team should have conversations to ensure that they are accurate and targeted to a specific piece of work. As you do more of them, they will get easier. The key is to get started and improve as you go.
FAQ’s
What is an Agile user story?
An agile user story is a simple, concise description of a requirement or feature from the perspective of the end-user or customer. It is a way to capture the needs of the user in a structured way that is easy to understand and prioritize.
Why is the role important in an Agile user story?
The role is important because it defines the user or customer who will be using or benefiting from the feature or functionality being described. This helps the development team to better understand the needs and goals of the user, and to design and develop a solution that meets those needs.
How does prioritization help in Agile user stories?
Prioritization helps to ensure that the most important user stories are addressed first, allowing the development team to focus their efforts on delivering the greatest value to the user in the shortest amount of time. This also helps to manage expectations and ensure that the product meets the most critical needs of the user.
How do you write an effective Agile User Story?
To write an effective Agile User Story, you should focus on the user’s needs and ensure that the story is clear, concise, and specific. You should also use language that is easy to understand and avoid technical jargon. Finally, you should make sure that the User Story is testable and that the Acceptance Criteria are well-defined.
Who is responsible for creating Agile User Stories?
Agile User Stories are typically created by the product owner, in collaboration with the development team and other stakeholders. The product owner is responsible for ensuring that the User Stories are aligned with the overall product vision and goals.
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