Recently I had to pick up leadership in a team with vague release scope. This post will tell how I made User Stories my ally in this mission.
What
Let's break things down first - what is User Story?
A user story is an informal, general explanation of a software feature written from the perspective of the end user. Its purpose is to articulate how a software feature will provide value to the customer. 1
Why
Definition above provides answer to that question - I had to understand expectations from business and estimate work needed to meet them. Looking on issues for different specialists spread over sprints and epics may not help you. User story will.
How
Basically their role is quite simple - aggregate different issues into one unit of business value. If you did a good job and address every functional requirement with User Story and look after developers to keep all issues connected to User Story you will see a clear picture of:
- What is done\need to be done to meet expectations
- How much each feature may cost
- With a help of business people - priorities for every story
Conclusion
User Stories is a tool which can solve different challenges and today I described one that worked for me. Thank you for reading and feel free to send your feedback via your favourite communication channel @humb1t.