The Complete User Story Playbook: From Basics to Best Practices (Part 1)
Everything you need to know about user stories.
A simple fact: Teams that use well-defined user stories are 25% more likely to complete projects on time and within budget compared to teams that do not. Users stories are an important component in the agile software development process, and mastering them is vital to any product owner or product manager.
In this article I will help you to understand what is a user story, its key components and provide you with some techniques for writing effective user stories.
Understanding User Stories
User story is basically a description of a feature that should be developed from the perspective of a user of the feature. The user story format is widely used in the agile software development because it is convenient, brief and gives important context from the business point of view.
Several user stories are usually combined into epics to describe larger features or pieces of functionality.
User stories are written in the following format:
As a [type of user], I want [an action or feature] so that [a benefit or value].
As a competitive language learner, I want to access and engage with the Duolingo leaderboard so that I can track my progress compared to others.
Key Components of a Great User Story
There are three key components in any user story - user persona, action and benefit. All of them are equally important and provide vital context. Let’s dive deeper into each component to understand how they affect user stories.
User persona
User persona is a fictional representation of a typical user of a product or service. Users personas are created by product teams to better understand user needs and their expected behavior.
I have highlighted user personas in these fictional Duolingo user stories. As you see, they might be very diverse:
As a language learner, I want to practice vocabulary with flashcards so that I can memorize new words and strengthen my language skills.
As a student, I want to use Duolingo stories to practice reading comprehension and expand my vocabulary in a fun and engaging way.
As a professional, I want to use personalized practice sessions that focus on industry-specific vocabulary so that I can improve my communication skills in my field of work.
For more information on how to create user personas, see my guide How to Understand Your Market and Customers: A Beginner's Guide.
Action
Action is something a user persona does to achieve certain results. This action must be very specific and clear as ambiguity or vagueness can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations, impacting the development process.
Here are some examples of actions with the above mentioned user personas:
As a language learner, I want to receive instant feedback on my pronunciation during speaking exercises so that I can identify and correct errors in real-time.
As a student, I want to access grammar explanations and tips within lessons so that I can understand the rules of the language and apply them correctly.
As a professional, I want to earn a Duolingo proficiency certificate so that I can showcase my language skills to potential employers or clients.
Benefit
Benefit is something a user is trying to achieve by completing an action. Benefit explains why the user performs an action and gives additional context. Benefit is especially important from the business point of view. For example:
As a language learner, I want to track my daily streak and earn rewards so that I stay motivated to practice regularly and achieve my language learning goals.
As a student, I want to compete with classmates on the leaderboard so that we can motivate each other and make language learning more interactive and social.
As a professional, I want to access a forum or community where I can interact with other learners and native speakers to practice my language skills and get feedback.
All together, user persona, action and benefit are an integral part of each user story.
Techniques for Writing Effective User Stories
Of course, you can write user stories as you see fit. However, here are several techniques that will help you writing user stories more efficiently.
INVEST
INVEST is a set of recommendations on how to compose user stories, as well as an acronym for the following words:
Independent. The story is self-contained and does not rely on other user stories to be implemented first. Such stories are great for overall development flexibility and planning.
Negotiable. The story can be negotiated within the team and updated as necessary. It is not etched in stone.
Valuable. The story brings real value to the end user. Your team focuses on the things that really matter.
Estimable. You (and the development team) are able to estimate the size of the story. This helps with planning iterations and setting realistic expectations.
Small. In a perfect world the user story fits into a single sprint.
Testable. The story has clear acceptance criteria that can be used to verify whether the functionality has been implemented correctly. This ensures quality and reduces the risk of rework.
Make a checklist to validate your user stories against these criteria to make sure they are written in the best possible manner.
3 Cs Model
The 3 Cs model is a framework that was initially introduced by Ron Jeffries, one of the founders of Extreme Programming (XP).
The framework is aimed on creating better user stories - brief but at the same time complete enough and effectively communicated. 3 Cs stands for:
Card: Writing the user story on a card ensures that the feature or requirement is captured in a brief and clearly expressed manner. The card serves as a reminder and starting point for further discussions. It helps keep the focus on the user's perspective and the intended benefit.
Conversation: The dialogue helps uncover hidden requirements, address uncertainties, and ensure that everyone is aligned on the scope and objectives. It also allows for iterative refinement of the user story based on feedback and new insights.
Confirmation: Defining acceptance criteria as part of the confirmation process provides clear, objective measures for determining when the user story is complete. It ensures that the development team knows exactly what to build and how to test it.
User Story Mapping
User story mapping is a technique that focuses on aligning user stories around the user journey. Imagine a path made of user stories aligned in such a manner that explains what does a user and when.
This technique was popularized by Jeff Patton in his book "User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product.”
There are several benefits of user story mapping:
Visual organization. Such approach provides a clear visual representation of the user journey and its related tasks.
Better collaboration. The technique improves collaboration between all stakeholders as they understand user needs.
Improved prioritization. User stories get prioritized based on user journey, so you make sure that more valuable features are developed first.
Focus on user value. User story mapping helps focusing on delivering features that provide real value to users, improving overall user satisfaction and product success.
Try any of these techniques to improve your skills in delivering perfect user stories. When mastered, they become a powerful tool in the hands of every product manager.
To be continued
In the second part of the article I will cover the following topics:
Best practices for crafting user stories - collaborative creation, keep it simple, prioritization, acceptance criteria.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them - vagueness, over-detailing, neglecting non-functional requirements.
Real-world examples - good and bad user stories.
User story template.