Many teams across the software industry are moving towards agile, so must we! Sounds familiar? Let’s see - Agile is a lightweight, iterative, and responsive software development methodology that adds more impetus to high levels of communication, flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Agile teams build features in small increments to allow integration of user feedback, a fail-forward approach, and improvisation of the activity outcomes. With this constant change and improvisation, the user needs also evolve, and this is where the user stories help agile teams fulfil their objectives.
In this article today, let us look at the preponderance of user stories, user story examples, and how they help agile teams, and the various types and templates of user stories.
What is a User Story in Agile?
A user story in Scrum is nothing but a plain and simple explanation of user needs, i.e., the feature or functionality expected by the user, written from the user's point of view. It is examined as the most logical level of requirement decomposition to aid agile teams in the iterative and incremental development of user needs. Most importantly, since only what can be measured can be achieved, user stories help agile teams to break down mammoth requirements into iteration-sized chunks of progress that can be accomplished piece-by-piece, i.e. in iterations and increments with checkpoints and milestones, i.e. measures of progress to achieve full feature delivery.
Knowing what user stories are all about lets us now comprehend how to write user stories by way of examples.
General User Story Examples
- As a user, I want to get customized news feeds in my inbox so that I don’t spend too much time on items I am not interested in.
- As a smartwatch user, I want to be able to sync my watch continuously so that I have access to on-demand vitals of my body and routine.
- As a user, I want my Bluetooth headset to connect to multiple devices so that I can switch between devices at my convenience.
User Story Examples for Websites
- As a first-time visitor, I want to see a simple and clear notification at the bottom of the screen to ask permission to store cookies to comply with GDPR.
- As a first-time visitor, I want to see an option that allows me to create or sign up for an account to personalize my preferences.
- As a returning user, I want to see the last logged-in DTTM time stamp (date-time) to safeguard my account and track my login.
A. User story examples for mobile apps
- As a mobile app user, I want to see all my personalization preferences synced across all the devices that I use to have a good user experience.
- As a mobile app user managing multiple accounts, I want to be able to switch between the profiles without any hassles so that I can easily access multiple profiles without issues or loss of data.
KnowledgeHut’s Agile user stories training online helps you get detailed hands-on workshops on creating user stories with various techniques.
B. User story examples for online shopping
- As a user, I want to have a wishlist functionality so that I can manage all my liked items in a single list.
- As a user, I prefer to have multiple wishlist functionalities to manage items that my family members like in separate lists but in a single account.
- As a user, I want the ability to check out multiple items and receive them in a single delivery slot to avoid delivery delays.
C. User story examples for banking systems
- As a banking application user, I want to have the option to manage controls of my account to block/unblock at ease to secure my account and finances.
- As a banking application user, I want to be able to raise the request for a demand draft and have the same home delivered to meet my banking needs.
- As a banking application user, I want to be able to get insightful metrics/reports to better track and manage my spending.
User Stories Examples for Designers and Developers
A. UX user story examples
- As a user, I want to be able to customize my homepage to meet my requirements and preferences.
- As a user, I want to be able to get autocomplete suggestions to save time and improve my typing speed.
- As a user, I want to be able to use accessibility tools such as a magnified font and on-screen keyboard to improve my website accessibility and experience.
B. Technical user story examples
- As an app developer, I want to be able to access a logging tool to analyze key API performances and metrics.
- As an administrator, I want to have a robust caching mechanism to reduce my API latencies and calls to save infrastructure costs.
- As a developer, I want to be able to push my code through integrated pipelines so that I can automatically check-in and deploy my code.
Deepen your knowledge of agile methodologies by taking up KnowledgeHut’s Agile Management course and know how user stories create the important connection between strategic planning and iteration planning to keep a tab on organizational goals and achievements.
User Story Examples Within the Agile Framework
User stories are nothing but large business requirements decomposed in the form of a user persona to make it easier for agile teams to achieve these requirements iteratively. This form of decomposition is layered to form a logical structure of requirements flowing from top to bottom, i.e., from themes to user stories.
User story format example,
1. Theme # 1
Enhance the customer dining experience for a restaurant
A. Epic - 1: Improve the restaurant reservation system
i. Feature: Reservation Management by Customer
- User story: As a customer, I want to have an online reservation system so that I can have a table when I arrive at the restaurant.
- User story 2: As a customer, I want to have a virtual experience of the seating setup in the restaurant with live availability to reserve my desired table.
ii. Feature: Reservation Management by Restaurant Manager
- User story 3: As a restaurant manager, I want to manage reservations centrally to avoid over or underutilization of tables.
- User story-4: As a restaurant manager, I want to be able to provide all customers with reserved/walk-in a table to have a positive experience.
iii. Feature: Technical - Improve API response times
- User story-5: As a developer, I want to optimize APIs by adding required caching/logging mechanisms and indexes to ensure faster loading times.
B. Epic - 2: Improve the in-restaurant customer experience
i. Feature: Digital Menu and Ordering
- User story: As a diner, I want to have the menu online so that I can see the detailed images and reviews before placing an order.
- User story 2: As a diner, I want to see ratings for chef-special dishes so that I can spend less time deciding on the order.
In tandem with the above, theme # 2 for improving operations at the restaurant can carry features and stories for optimizing order management, procurement, service times, etc. To summarize, the theme-user story level structure helps weave end-to-end product/business requirements into smaller components based on the popular INVEST model example of a user story in Agile. It is important to note that with the flexibility agile offers, some organizations may choose to use features or omit them and use themes, epics, and user stories instead. KnowledgeHut’s Agile Management course prepares you for this and a lot more; learn today from the experts.
User Story Examples for Each Stage of the Customer Journey
Customer journey is a visual representation of a typical customer/user journey to derive better product features and outcomes. It is a sequential set of steps that the customer will perform while interacting with the app/website and showcases all the touchpoints in this journey. A typical customer journey in agile methodology user stories example will have the following stages:
- Awareness (Browsing/Getting to know)
- Consideration (Searching/Comparing the product/deep dive into features)
- Decision(Purchase/Decision to avail)
- Service (Post Purchase support)
- Loyalty (Experience/Feedback)
Let us now see how the above mapping provides tips to write the best user story for buying a car.
- Awareness Stage: As a car lover, I want to see videos of various car models so that I can know their features.
- Consideration Stage0020: As a potential car buyer, I want to compare the features of various models and variants of cars to help narrow down my choices.
- Decision Stage: As a potential car buyer, I want to explore low-interest finance options available to purchase my desired car model.
- Service Stage: As a car owner, I want to get the schedule of my service appointments to keep up with my car maintenance.
- Loyalty Stage: As a car owner, I want to participate in the dealer’s ownership program to earn loyalty points/rewards towards all products/services availed. (OR) As a dealer, I want to share a link with my customers so that they can rate their experience and my services when purchasing a car.
User Stories With Requirements Examples
Although there are different schools of thought when it comes to requirements and user stories, the commonly agreed notion is that while user stories address the WHAT and WHY parts of a feature, the requirements delve into the HOW part of it, both synchronously forming the product backlog for agile teams to accomplish. Let us see this by way of a simple user story example:
User story: As a shopper, I want to get a survey link so that I can rate my overall experience
Requirements:
- Automated survey: Users should be sent surveys automatically within 4 hours after product delivery.
- Questionnaire scope: The survey must cover all stages of the customer journey.
- Loyalty program: The survey must assess the user’s interest in joining the brand loyalty program.
Following the above, a user story may address the user persona, and having detailed requirements will make it easier for product and tech teams to add and assess the relevant acceptance criteria for the stories.
User Story Example Format in Different Medium
1. Word Doc user story example
The Word doc user story template helps break down requirements and author user stories in a simple one-page view format along the standard “As a - I want to - so that” pattern along with acceptance criteria detailed in a “Given - when - then” format. For example,
User story: As a shopper, I want to see a detailed floor map of the mall so that I can get to my desired store faster.
Acceptance criteria: Given that the shopper enters the mall, when the shopper comes near the escalators, digital floor maps should welcome the shoppers to their desired destinations.
2. Excel user story example
The Excel user story example template helps in collating all the user stories in Agile examples and the corresponding acceptance criteria in a list-based format to capture the requirements-related user stories in a single place and help tracking of requirements to user stories by product owners/managers. Some agile teams may use acceptance criteria in a point-based format over the popular given-when-then format.
3. PowerPoint user story example
The PowerPoint story example template is a visual representation of a user story depicting more of a customer journey or additional details of the user persona apart from the standard user story format and acceptance criteria. PowerPoint examples or templates for creating user stories follow the index card format or standard user story format, which are graphically depicted alongside any other details, such as the related assumptions, dependencies, or checklists.
4. Index card user story example
The most popularly recommended user story template example is the index card user story format template as it imbibes the tenet of 3C’s of user stories, i.e. using a card (index card), conversation (feedback), and confirmation (acceptance criteria). Typically, the 3Cs help formulate the user stories based on a methodology that is understood and agreed upon by the team and stakeholders.
5. Index Card with Acceptance Criteria
An extension to the earlier format of an index card and 3Cs of authoring user stories, having an index card, i.e. a user story with the “As a - I want to - so that” format at the front of the card and confirmation criteria, i.e. “the story can be called as done when the mentioned outcomes are achieved” on the back of the card is recommended when authoring user stories based on the index card along with user stories examples with acceptance criteria.
6. Thematic user story example
The thematic user story example template follows the approach of linking themes to epics, features, and their corresponding user stories to help establish a hierarchical structure of top-down integration. This framework of epic user stories examples weaves a tightly coupled relationship between product vision and roadmap to user story level planning and execution.
Conclusion
User stories are requirements authored based on a user persona and assist in bringing a required structure and clarity to the agile process of breaking things down and taking them in sprint-sized iterations. Although there are various formats in which teams can create and add user stories, the context of the 3C’s, i.e. creating a card, having a conversation, and getting the confirmation, is the litmus test for every user story.
To be effective, user stories must follow the INVEST model, and as an agile best practice, it is important for teams to chalk out a clear and detailed mapping between themes, epics, features, user stories, and the unit-level decomposition layer of sub-tasks to ensure day-to-day executions helps achieve organization’s goals and objectives. The user story examples shared in this article today are a practical source of reference as to how this can be accomplished and help detail stories as per each area of work/specialization.
