An Introduction to User Stories for Software Requirements

The technique of expressing requirements as user stories is one of the most broadly applicable techniques introduced by Extreme Programming. User stories are an effective approach on all time constrained projects, not just those using XP.

In this class we will look at how to identify and write good user stories. The class will describe the six attributes all good stories must exhibit and present thirteen guidelines for writing better stories. We will explore how user role modeling can help when gathering a project’s initial stories. This class will be equally suited for programmers, testers, managers and even customers and analysts who are interested in applying these agile techniques to their projects.

About Mike Cohn

Mike Cohn is the founder of Mountain Goat Software, a process and project management consultancy and training firm. He is the author of User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development and Agile Estimating and Planning, as well as books on Java and C++ programming. With more than 20 years of experience, Mike has previously been a technology executive in companies of various sizes, from startup to Fortune 40. A frequent magazine contributor and conference speaker, Mike is a founding member of the AgileAlliance, and serves on its board of directors. He can be reached at mike@mountaingoatsoftware.com.

More About Mike »