User Stories – Part 4
Typical Template
A user story can be written using a template that has three general parts: the title, the description, and the acceptance criteria.
Title: This is just to name the user story and should be used to differentiate it from other user stories. It should be very short (typically less than 10 words).
Description: type of user, goal, and reason/benefit. Typically, this follows a similar pattern:
As a <type of user>, I want <goal> so that <reason/benefit>.
● Type of user: is defined as whoever the user is. It is anyone who interacts with the system and receives the benefit. The type of user is who the product is being built for.
● Goal: is the ‘what’ of the equation. This is whatever the type of user above wants and is the intention behind the whole project.
● Reason/benefit: is the why. It is the value that is brought and the whole reason the product is being built.
Acceptance Criteria: Writing acceptance criteria helps define further the user story so that it can be tested. Acceptance criteria make sure that the Team’s interpretation of the user story matches the product owner’s and customer’s interpretation. These often grow and change as the product develops but are needed to clearly define what ‘done’ means. Scrum Masters can help define acceptance criteria, especially at the beginning, by guiding the Team when discussions happen with the product owner.
User stories don’t have to follow this template but following it often helps create simple and clear user stories that are easy to use. They should be short and be used to encourage collaboration. It shouldn’t be complex but instead should be an assurance a conversation will happen later.
59 Seconds Training Video
Master of Agile – Scrum Product Owner With 59 Seconds Agile (Video Training Course)
Introductory Offer: Free Course
What is this course?
This ‘Master of Agile – Scrum Product Owner With 59 Seconds Agile (Video Training Course)’ provides an in-depth understanding of the Scrum Product Owner roles and responsibilities
You will explore the Agile Scrum project life-cycle, including how an Agile User Story is created, to how we know when it is ‘done’
This course is aimed at those with or without prior knowledge and experience of the Agile values and principles
During this course you will learn the tools needed to succeed as a Scrum Product Owner
What will you learn?
You will gain an in-depth understanding of the Scrum Product Owner roles and responsibilities, and you will be able to
- Fully understand the role of the Scrum Product Owner
- Understand the roles involved in an Agile project
- Create an effective Product Backlog
- Effectively participate in Scrum Meetings such as the Daily Stand-up, Sprint Review and Retrospective
- Identify the roles involves in the Scrum Team
What topics are covered within this course?
You will cover the following topics during this course:
- An Introduction to Agile Project Management (Product Owner)
- The 12 Agile Principles (Product Owner)
- The Declaration of Interdependence (Product Owner)
- Introduction to Scrum (Product Owner)
- Scrum Project Roles (Product Owner)
- The Agile Project Life-cycle (Product Owner)
- Acceptance Criteria and the Prioritised Product Backlog (Product Owner)
- Epics and Personas (Product Owner)
- Sprint Planning (Product Owner)
- User Stories (Product Owner)
- The Daily Scrum (Product Owner)
- The Product Backlog (Product Owner)
- Scrum Charts (Product Owner)
- Review and Retrospective (Product Owner)
- Validating a Sprint (Product Owner)
- Releasing the Product (Product Owner)
Our Book Recommendations
We found these books great for finding out more information on Agile Scrum: