Category: user stories

Filling the Product Backlog: Go For Excitement

October 1, 2008 by peterstev

Picture courtesy of jakuza@Flickr

Once you know who you are building the product for, the next step is to create a list of features which will excite your customers and get them to use and buy one of your products. Which functions should you put into the system, and why? The user story workshop creates the initial product backlog.

This workshop is similar to the last workshop where you identified the users and buyers of your systems. This workshop needs the same people, except that the importance of the development team rises as you get closer to implementation. It is also desirable to have some real users represented. The workshop structure structure is simple:

1. Review the format of User Stories and the Kano Model.
2. For each Role,
1. Identify the main goals
2. Identify the functions which that person wants the system to perform to achieve those goals
3. Decide on next steps: Homework or Implementation

User Stories: Three Steps to Better Presentations

August 27, 2008 by peterstev

As a Scrum Coach, I often take on the role of Evangelist. Monday afternoon, I explained Scrum to the Swiss Java User Group[1]. Although not my first such talk, I had to completely rewrite the presentation. When this was 80% done, the realization hit me: How will I know if the “users” are getting what they need? Why am I not writing user stories?