User stories place real users at the heart of discussions with the intent of employing technical jargon and providing a broader context for the teams.
A key aspect of the agile mindset is prioritizing a user-centric approach, moving the attention from the technical aspects of coding and designing to delivering real value to the end users. User stories drive collaboration, creativity, and a better product overall.
What is a user story?
A user story represents the minimal unit of work that delivers value to the end user. It contains a title, a description, and the acceptance criteria.
The title
The title of a user story follows a basic formula:
As a {role} I want {objective} So that {motivation}
An example of a user story could be: As a food delivery app user, I want to see multiple available restaurants in my area so that I can choose the nearest one to me.
The title of the user story must map a single functionality of your product or service.
The description
The description within a user story provides the backdrop for the feature, potentially including an outline of the user’s experience, usage instances, illustrative images, and additional details.
The acceptance criteria
Acceptance criteria in a user story are conditions used to confirm when a story is completed and is working as intended. They clearly understand what needs to be done to complete the story and fulfill the user’s requirements.
The acceptance criteria should be “SMART” – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The product owner and dev team mainly write it during backlog refinement or sprint planning.
For example, if one user story is: “As a food delivery app user, I want to see multiple available restaurants in my area so that I can choose the nearest one to me,” the acceptance criteria could be:
- List all restaurants within an area of 5km.
- List the delivery time from each restaurant.
- Tapping on the restaurant opens the menu.
Benefits of working with user stories
- User-centric approach: User stories ensure that the user’s needs are a priority in the development process. This will lead to a product that better aligns with users’ needs.
- Improve team communication: User stories help enhance communication between team members and stakeholders or non-technical teams by providing a common language for everyone to understand the features and functionalities that are being developed.
- Flexibility: User stories are typically high-level and straightforward enough, allowing for changes as the project progresses and more information becomes available.
- Prioritization: User stories help prioritize features and functionalities based on the value they provide to the user.
- Better estimations: Since user stories are small and independent, they are easier to estimate in terms of the time and resources required.
Remember, the effectiveness of user stories also depends on proper implementation and a thorough understanding of the user story format.