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Creating User Stories That get Your Developers Excited

- Currentlya product management consultant helping early stage startups apply data driven and user centric product principles.

- Has managed digital products atTheLadders, at FanDuel, and Nielsen.

Jason-Phillip Park

www.productschool.com

Creating user stories that get your developersexcited

1. Communication

a. You aren’t clearly communicating user needs

2. Understanding

a. You don’t have a common understanding of what the product should do

3. Buy-In

a. You haven’t convinced your developers that this is important

What’s the deal?

The User Story

eg. See suggestions for titles if my text returns no matches

Agile artifact that defines high-level product requirements

Vehicle for discussion with developers

As a [USER], I want to [ACTION], so that [BENEFIT]

eg. As a customer, I want to search for a book by title, so that I can find the book I want tobuy

I will know this is done when I can...

eg. Get valid results based on a title search

What is a User Story?

Brief and simple documentation

Encourages communication

Freedom to create within constraints

Explains why this important

Why User Stories?

INVEST

Each story should deliver value on it’s own

Independent stories allow for more flexibility

Bad User StoryAs a user, I want an HTML front end where I can enter text so that…

Technically dependentAs a user, I want to log into a system, enter my information and be notified if any results are

invalid, so thatCompound

Good User StoryAs a user, I want to pay with a VISA card, so that… As a user, I want to pay with a MasterCard, so that...

Independent

As a high-volume player, I want to replace the same player from multiple lineups, so I don’t haveto individually replace each lineup

NegotiableFacilitate collaboration towards a solution

Not a contract, Developers can push back

Goals are not negotiable, how to address them is

Good user story leads to an outcome

Bad User Story:As a driver, I want to get directions via Google Maps to stores, so I can get there quickly

I will know this is done when I canShow locations on mapsShow locations on Google Maps

Good User Story:

Each requirement should deliver valueBusiness valueCost savings/Operational improvementTeam value (Technical tasks)

User-centricEven technical tasks re-phrase to be user centric

Communicating this value is critical to helping teams prioritizeFocus on a strong “so that” part of the story

Bad User StoryAs a purchaser I want to have my previous orders stored in a database so it’s there forever

Good User StoryAs a frequent buyer, I want to see my previous orders so I can quickly reorder them

Valuable

Goal is to get a rough estimate

“Just-enough” detail

Still no technical implementation detail

Component of prioritization

Estimatable

Ensure independence

Easier to estimate

Better to evaluate trade-offs of similarly small stories when prioritizing

Impact of scope change is easier to manage

Bad User Story

As a user, I want to read the sports news, so I can be up to date

Good User Story

As a job seeker, I want to upload my .doc resume so that I can apply to a job

Small

TestableUnambiguous criteria

Role Action Outcome

Anyone should be able to verify

Bad User Story

As a potential client, I want a beautiful home page, so I don’t have to look at something ugly

Good User Story

As a millennial, I want my feed to show up within 1 second, so I can respond to my friends

EXERCISE

5 minutes: Independently come up with user stories & acceptance criteria

Pair up & evaluate each other’s user stories & acceptance criteria

5 minutes to discuss whether your cards are INVEST-able

E-Commerce Search for Books

Communicating why is this important?

As a [USER], I want to [ACTION], so that [BENEFIT]

I will know this is done when I can…

INVEST Independent NegotiableValuableEstimatable Small Testable

Summary

1. Try it out!a. User Stories are a tool in the PM’s toolkit b. Use it or lose it!

2. Struggling?a. Talk to your team (dev, ux, design, etc)b. How can we make this process better? c.Not all tools are used for each jobd. Find something that works for everyone i.

Job Story1. When SITUATION, I want to MOTIVATION, So I can OUTCOME

ii. Persona Story1. As a PERSONA, I want to ACTION, so that BENEFIT

iii. Use Case (http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/what-is-a-use-case/)

What Next?

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