Scrum : Developing User Stories in a Scrum Project

In a Scrum project, the responsibility for creating User Stories generally lies with the Product Owner(s). User Stories ensure that the customer requirements are clearly depicted and are understood by all the key internal and external stakeholders including the Scrum Team who deliver the outputs of the project. In Scrum, the User Stories and the associated Acceptance Criteria are generally developed together by the Product Owner.

Before we discuss the process of creating User Stories, let’s understand what User Stories are. User Stories adhere to a specific, predefined structure and are a simple way of documenting the requirements and desired end-user functionality. The requirements are expressed in the form of User Stories which are short, simple, and easy-to-understand statements. A User Story tells you three things about the requirement: who needs the requirement, what is the requirement, and why is the requirement needed. Some User Stories may be too large to be handled within a single Sprint. These large User Stories are often called Epics, and once they come up in the Prioritized Product Backlog and are to be developed in the upcoming Sprint, they are further decomposed into multiple smaller User Stories.

Now, let us understand process of creating User Stories in detail. Following are required to develop User Stories: Scrum Core Team, Prioritized Product Backlog, Done Criteria, and Personas. The tool used to develop the User Stories is User Story Writing Expertise. And along with User Stories, the team will also develop User Story Acceptance Criteria.

Here is a video on how User Stories are created: http://www.scrumstudy.com/watch.asp?vid=612

Although the entire Scrum Core Team needs to be involved in creation of the User Stories, it is the Product Owner who decides the User Stories as he/she creates the project’s initial overall requirements, determines Product Vision, assesses the viability and ensures delivery of the product or service, decides minimum marketable release content and, ultimately, provides Acceptance Criteria for the User Stories to be developed in the ensuing Sprint. However, the Scrum Team can seek clarifications from the Product Owner and also pass on expert opinion on creation of User Stories.

An important influence on the development User Stories is the Prioritized Product Backlog. It is based on three primary factors: value, risk or uncertainty, and dependencies. Other important inputs are Done Criteria and Personas. Done Criteria are a set of rules that are applicable to all User Stories. A clear definition of Done is critical, because it removes ambiguity from requirements and helps the team adhere to mandatory quality norms. A User Story is considered Done when it is demonstrated to and approved by the Product Owner who judges it on the basis of the Done Criteria and the User Story Acceptance Criteria. Personas are highly detailed fictional characters, representative of the majority of users and other stakeholders who may not directly use the end product. Personas are created to identify the needs of the target user base. Creating specific Personas will help the team understand users and their requirements and goals better. And thus help develop appropriate User Stories.

User Story Writing Expertise is the exercise or tool used to develop the User Stories. The Product Owner, based on his/her interaction with the stakeholders, his/her own business knowledge and expertise, and inputs from the team, will develop the User Stories that will form a part of the initial Prioritized Product Backlog for the project. The Prioritized Product Backlog represents the sum total of what must be completed during the project. The objective of this exercise is to create elaborated and refined User Stories that the Scrum Team commit to. Although the Product Owner has the primary responsibility for writing User Stories, and often carries out this exercise on his/her own, a User Story Writing Workshop can be held if desired.

Finally, let’s conclude by discussing how best to present a User Story. The format for presenting a User Story as given in the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK™) is: ‘As a <role/persona>, I should be able to <requirement> so that <benefit>’. An example for this could be ‘As a Database Administrator, I should be able to revert to a selected number of database updates so that the desired version of the database is restored.’ The use of predefined, standard format helps in enhanced communication among the stakeholders and better estimations by the team.