How to Write a Perfect User Stories for Great Project Management

The benefits of creating user stories

We have mentioned the benefits for the Product Owner and the Team above, but to understand the topic it’s necessary to have a closer look at the matter. 

Better communication

Do you know what is the main pain point for the clients according to the independent survey? Poor level of communication with the development team. Not surprisingly, the dev teams named poor communication with the client among their own pain points too. 

Of course, a team needs a clear description of what the client wants. But the thing is, the client can be not sure himself or simply feel uncomfortable with the slang used in IT. It leads to the situation where precious time is lost and the outcome does not meet the expectations even close. 

Here the User Stories come. They are clear and simple to get, so all the participants of the development process can get a correct vision of the final product and the features to be implemented. 

Easier planning

As we have already mentioned, one of the main features of a good user story is it's being easy to implement during one sprint and it also should be estimable. 

It leads to more efficient planning of all the work processes in general. The tasks can be also prioritized better, along with risk decrease. It all leads to a better organization of the work process when a deadline can be met in a steady manner. 

Agile user story

If you prefer to do things step by step, the agile methodology will first for you best. The issues can be easily eliminated on the go simply because each stage of the development is processed with maximum attention to the matter. 

A great advantage of agile User Story is that it’s not a mandatory requirement to have them all listed at once. On the contrary, one can easily start with just one and write more as the sprint goes. If such an approach is used the developers can fix any issue immediately on the earliest stages of the development process or implement any change.

How to write a good user story 

When we made it clear what the User Story actually is, let’s have a look at a short guide of how to create a good one. 

User story template

There are a lot of templates on the web, so we have just collected a couple of the most appropriate ones.

• As a [user] I want to [action] to [value]

Example: As a user, I want to add products to the cart so I can buy them immediately.

• [User] does [action] to [value]

Example: Admin blocks inappropriate messages to provide a better experience for other users.

User story mapping

Of course, just a template is not enough. To make a User Story helpful one should have a clear vision of the steps which have to be taken to make a User Story a really efficient tool.

Users and their needs are in focus

User stories should offer value to the users. The only way to achieve it is to be initially oriented on your target audience, end uses, and their needs. 

It is important to have in mind that under “users” we mean not just external ones (en users) but internal as well (admins). 

Because you are writing user stories you need to know your users and their needs, otherwise, you will not be able to offer them any value. Seems too complicated? Don’t worry, create a persona and try to make a portrait of each, as well as guess their needs. 

The most important thing which has to be kept in mind any single second is that your app and any taken action while using it should bring value for all the categories of users. It is the case when guesswork does not do at all. Go out of your shell, start communicating with people so you get the solid proofs. 

Define the actions

Ok, the portrait of the end-user is ready. What’s next? In two words, it’s time to make a list of possible actions which a user can take in case he wants to get any value. 

Don’t forget the Golden Rule: one story - one action. (Hint: in other cases, you are developing an Epic, not a user story). As we have mentioned, it's not an obligation to rush and add to the list all possible actions. Begin with the most critical ones and develop the app’s functionality step by step.

Brainstorm always works

User Stories are just beautiful - they provide a lot of room for creativity either for the team or for the client, so the feature can be implemented in the best possible way.

When you feel that the list of actions is ready, the users are ready and are ready for communication, arrange a meeting and discuss how the ideas will be brought to life. 

But what about my KPIs?

Any User Story is built around the value. That is why they affect the level of customer satisfaction most. Engagement increases, conversion rises when the retention rates decrease, so the KPI, in general, becomes higher. 

Wrapping up

Of course, there’s a lot to think about. But when it comes to the action, it turns out that it’s much easier to write aUser Story than it sounds. If you want to get the maximum out of it, concentrate on finding a reliable development company working on Agile methodology.  In this case, you can be sure of the quality of the end product, as well as about the management processes during all the stages of the SDLC.

In Celadonsoft, we follow the rule, according to which the User Stories are written at the very beginning of the product development, in case the client did not write them on his own In any case, we are open to conversation, so the work process is end-to-end transparent and clear. It also helps us to be 100% sure that the vision of the project is the same for all the team members and the Product Owner as well.