Definition:
- A user story describes the desired functionality from the user (customer) perspective.
- A good user story also describes who wants it , and how and why the functionality will be used.
- A larger user story is sometimes called an epic.
- A set of related user stories combined and treated as single entity for estimating or release planning is called a theme.
Evaluating user stories:
Independent:
- Can the user story be built without requiring other stories before we can see and test functionality.?
Negotiable:
- Can specific details of story be resolved through conversation so we can maximize the benefit while minimizing development costs.
Valuable:
- Does the story add value to the software for either or both the user and business.
Estimable:
- Do we know enough about the story to estimate the time to construct the software.?
Small:
- Is the story as small as it can be but still valuable.?
Testable:
- Can others easily verify that the story is complete.?
