Writing Agile User Stories: Key Considerations and Techniques

Erivan de Sena Ramos
4 min readFeb 16, 2023
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Writing user stories is a key practice in agile software development that helps teams understand and prioritize user needs. They are used to document and prioritize the requirements of a project and are an effective way to communicate with stakeholders and team members. Writing effective user stories is a critical skill for Business Analysts. By doing so, you can ensure that user stories are clear, concise, and understood by everyone involved in the project.

User Stories originated in Extreme Programming around 1998 and were popularized with the advent of Agile in the early 2000s. The basic template for writing user stories is “As a [type of user], I want to [action], so that [goal].”, however, you may vary this style depending on your Agile team's need. Below, I explore some tips for writing Agile user stories and some key considerations and techniques to keep in mind.

Start with the User

User stories should always start with the user and focus on the problem the user is trying to solve. This makes it easier for stakeholders and team members to understand the requirement and its importance. For example, instead of writing “As a system administrator, I want to be able to backup the database,” writes “As a user, I want to be able to recover lost data easily in the event of a…

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Erivan de Sena Ramos
Erivan de Sena Ramos

Written by Erivan de Sena Ramos

Business Analysis & Requirements Engineering enthusiast. Information Systems & Software Engineering specialist. MBA in PM & HR. CBAP, PMP, CSM, ITIL & COBIT

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