Definition & Benefits of User Stories

User stories are sentences created in the language of a software operator, commonly used in computer programming. These user stories are capable of capturing what the end user, or software operator, would like to achieve. Constructed in everyday or business language, user stories are basically a smart way of handling customer requirements, without the additional hassle of having to create elaborate formal documents and keeping up the maintenance needed to update them. The use of user stories, for example, is to be able to respond quickly and with much less overhead to real world, rapidly changing requirements.

Creating User Stories

Most user stories are informal statements that comprise the requirements needed. However, they can only be used if the correspondence of acceptance testing procedures is actually lacking. The customer writes an appropriate acceptance procedure before the user stories are implemented, which determines whether or not the goals of each one of the user stories have actually been achieved.

User stories are formulated when the developer meets with a customer representative. The customer is then under the responsibility of creating user stories. To get the customer on the right track, the developer sometimes prods him forward with a series of questions. For example, they could ask whether a particular function would be a good idea to add to the stories. However, there is a fine line here. The developer must not preside over the creation, or the user stories will not actually be user stories.

Once the user stories are created, they are written down on small note cards that have a name and description of the customer’s formulated ideas. The developer then looks it over to find if anything is lacking, in the case of which the user stories will be rewritten. In the substance on the note card, there is usually a role, followed by the looked for goal or desire, with the reason of benefits. An example of a suitable user story would be: “As an app creator, I want to be able to test my test cases and report these to the management.” The role is computer programming; the goal is to test the test cases; and the benefit is being able to report those cases to management.

Benefits of User Stories

The benefits of user stories vary according to their use. They are very helpful to business because they define what is to actually be built in the software project. The customer is able to prioritize in his formulated user stories which ideas are most important for the developer, and the tasks can be broken down into elements for better estimation. Also, these user stories offer the chance for developers to directly converse with the customer about their needs and goals. The developer can test when the user stories are done, and report back to the customer with results.

Most user stories are very short, allowing for much less hassle and a decreased amount of processes. The developer and the client can consistently interact during development, and very little maintenance is needed during the process. User stories can greatly benefit any aspect of the development business scene.