How to write good User Stories in Agile

Summary

This video tutorial guides viewers on crafting effective user stories in Agile development, emphasizing the importance of acceptance criteria. It illustrates how to structure user stories for clarity and value delivery, using examples like a Spotify podcast feature. The video also introduces the INVEST acronym to evaluate user stories for independence, negotiability, value, estimability, small size, and testability, ensuring they are well-defined and actionable.

Takeaways

• 📝 **User Stories in Agile**: Agile teams use user stories to break down product features and requirements into manageable pieces of functionality.
• 🎯 **User Perspective**: Each user story should describe the desired functionality from the user's point of view, ensuring it delivers value.
• 📎 **Brief and Simple**: User stories should be brief enough to fit on an index card and written in a simple way that's understandable by everyone.
• 👤 **User Role Identification**: The user story format helps identify the user role or persona, which is crucial for understanding user needs.
• 🔍 **Action and Value**: A good user story outlines the user's action and the value it provides, answering the 'why' behind the functionality.
• 📋 **Acceptance Criteria**: Acceptance criteria define the conditions that must be met for the user story to be considered complete.
• 🔄 **Given-When-Then Format**: The 'Given-When-Then' format is a useful way to write acceptance criteria, outlining context, action, and expected results.
• 🔍 **Verification with INVEST**: Use the INVEST acronym to verify the quality of user stories: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimatable, Small, and Testable.
• 🏋️‍♂️ **Independence**: Good user stories are independent and can be developed or released without depending on other stories.
• 🤝 **Negotiable**: While the user's goal is fixed, the approach to achieving it should be open to discussion and negotiation.
• 💰 **Value Addition**: Each user story should enhance the product's value, making it more beneficial to the end user.
• 📏 **Estimatable**: The story should provide enough detail for the team to estimate the effort required and plan accordingly.
• 🔎 **Small Scope**: Keeping user stories small makes them easier to estimate, plan, and test within an iteration or sprint.
• 🧪 **Testable**: A user story should be testable, with clear acceptance criteria that allow for a binary pass or fail outcome.

Q & A

What are user stories in agile development?

User stories in agile development are brief, simple descriptions of a feature told from the perspective of the end-user or customer of the system. They typically cover a small piece of functionality and deliver value on their own.

Why should user stories be written on an index card?

User stories should be brief enough to be written on an index card to ensure they are concise and focused on the essential details, making them easy to understand and manage.

What is the typical format for writing a user story?

The typical format for a user story is: 'As a [role], I want [feature] so that [benefit].' This format helps to clearly define the user role, the action they want to take, and the value they will gain.

What is the purpose of acceptance criteria in user stories?

Acceptance criteria define the conditions that must be met for the user story to be considered complete. They provide clear guidelines for the development team and help ensure that the functionality meets the user's needs.

Can you provide an example of acceptance criteria using the 'given when then' format?

An example using the 'given when then' format could be: 'Given I am on the Spotify app, when I click the favorite icon next to a podcast, then the podcast should be saved and appear in my favorites list.'

Why is it important for user stories to be independent?

User stories should be independent so they can be developed in any order, without being coupled with other stories. This allows for flexibility in the development process and can facilitate quicker releases.

What does it mean for a user story to be negotiable?

Negotiable means that while the end goal of the user story is clear, the methods or solutions to achieve that goal can be discussed and adapted by the development team to best fit the project's needs.

How can you determine if a user story is valuable?

A user story is valuable if its delivery makes the product more useful or beneficial to the end-user. It should provide a clear benefit that aligns with the user's needs or business objectives.

What does 'estimatable' mean in the context of user stories?

Estimatable refers to the ability for the development team to assess the size and complexity of a user story, allowing them to plan and commit to the work required to complete it.

Why should user stories be small?

User stories should be small enough to be completed within an iteration or sprint. This makes them easier to estimate, test, and manage, leading to more efficient development cycles.

How can you ensure that a user story is testable?

A user story is testable if it has clear acceptance criteria that can be evaluated in a binary manner (pass or fail). This ensures that there is a definitive way to verify whether the story's requirements have been met.

What is the acronym INVEST and how does it relate to writing good user stories?

INVEST is a mnemonic for the qualities of a good user story: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimatable, Small, and Testable. It serves as a checklist to ensure that user stories are well-crafted and effective for agile development.