User Story (En)

Agile transformation is not possible to practise only scrum, kanban or other methodologies. It is necessary to adopt the Kaizen culture, measure to metrics and timeboxing events. Otherwise, agile approaches will be disappointment for you.

However, I will talk about user stories that are mostly no need to use. But they both save time and minimize uncertainties in development processes.

What is a user story?
User story with a basic definition; It is the simplest and most understandable explanation of a feature to be used by the end user. Of course, while making this statement, he/she needs to answer the following 3 questions.

• Who is the requesting user?
• What is the requested need?
• Why is this request needed?

There is a very simple format that answers all these questions.

As a <type of user>, I want <activity> so that <business value>.

When writing a user story must be clearly defined. Technical terms or department-specific abbreviations should be avoided and should be written in a clear language as much as possible.

INVEST Model
INVEST model rules are taken into account when creating a user story.
(If there is a word written in capital letters somewhere, each letter must have a separate explanation.)
Independent: Should be developed and delivered independently.
Negotiable: Should be able to discuss on team and business units.
Valueable: It should be able to generate value for the user.
Estimable: Effort estimation should be possible.
Small: It should be broken down into parts that can be completed in a single sprint.
Testable: It should be testable.

User stories consist of 3 parts. These are;

* User’s story definition
* Acceptance criteria
* Definition of done

User Story Estimation
You can estimate the created stories in different ways. The most preferred ones are respectively;
* Fibonacci (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, …)
* Modified Fibonacci (0, ½, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100, …)
* T-shirt size ( xxs, xs, s, m, l, xl, xxl, …)
* Powers of 2 (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, …)

There is actually much more detailed information to be written about User Stories. Each subject that I have specified as a sub-title will be the main title. However, I have tried to summarize the general outlines.

I would love for you to share your comments and effects on your processes.

Thank you