writing agile user stories

@lily_dart lilydart.com

Lily Dart

Freelance service design & user research

Writing agile user stories

User stories help us to focus on meeting user needs instead of specifying features

When we specify features we make assumptions about how we meet user needs

Help us to ensure that each feature we implement is driven by a user need

Allow us prioritise our work based on what is most valuable to our users

Make it easier to put ourselves in our users shoes

Focusing on user needs allows us creative flexibility when designing and implementing

As a user

I want to take an action

So that I can meet my need

It’s easy to write user stories badly

As a user

I want to have a ratings system

So that I can see the rating of a salon

too generic

As a user

feature specific

As a user

not a need

As a beauty enthusiast

I want to see what previous customers thought of the salon

So that I can assess whether the salon will provide

a high quality service

specific user type

feature agnostic

a high quality service describes a goal

1. Identify users 2. Define epics 3. Identify goals 4. Write stories

Identify your usersTask 1

• Who is the core target user of your service?

• What behaviours identify those users?

• What broad needs do they have?

Epics are descriptions of high-level user needs

With epics we can prioritise needs at a high level

We avoid scope creep, and ensure we meet the most important needs first

Users need to achieve a goal

Beauty enthusiasts need to find a salon that they trust to deliver a high quality service

Beauty enthusiasts need to find a salon in a location that is convenient for them to travel to

Write 3 epicsTask 2 mins

Users need to achieve a goal

Prioritise your epicsTask 3 min

What is the most important need to meet for your users?

To create user stories, epics need to be deconstructed into more specific needs

Need to know how far away a salon is from where they are Need to know how they can travel to the salon Need to know when they should leave to get to the salon on time

Deconstruct your epicsTask 4 mins

What information might users need, and what criteria might they use, to meet the high-level need described in the epic?

• Work individually

• Write each need on an individual post-it note

Choose 3 needsTask 5 mins

Select 3 needs you’d like to turn in user stories.

• Work in your teams to group similar needs together

• For each post-it note, ask:

• Does this describe a need?

• Does this clearly relate to the epic?

Need to know how far away a salon is from where they are Need to know how they can travel to the salon Need to know when they should leave to get to the salon on time

I want to see the location of a salon

So that I can know how far away that salon is from where I am

I want to see bus, train and parking options near a salon

So that I can work out the best route for me to travel to it

I want to know how long a bus, train or car journey will take

So that I can know what time I should leave to get to the salon in time for my appointment

Write 3 user storiesTask 6 mins

As a user I want to <take an action> So that I can meet my need

Lily Dart

Freelance service design & user research

Any questions?

writing agile user stories

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