The Story Behind User Stories

User Stories. We have all heard of them, but do we truly understand them? Aren’t they just use cases repackaged and marketed as “agile”? Are they just a euphemism for “requirements”?

In this presentation, we will take a deep dive into User Stories: their purpose and how to develop them. We will take a look at user stories together and dig into the really tough topics such as how to handle non-functional requirements in an agile world. Next we will discuss sizing and story point estimation and then estimate the stories we have created while discussing estimating software in general and estimation in agile in particular. Finally we will develop Acceptance Criteria and discuss what the definition of done really means to you, your team, and your product owner. You will leave with the tools you need to help your team understand and develop real user stories and establish a stable velocity.

About John Borys

John Borys has developed Enterprise Java applications for 16 years in the Chicago Metropolitan area. He has consulted for small start-ups and Fortune 50 companies. Introduced to Agile in 2004 while working on a maintenance system for the F-22 Raptor Engine, he has been an agile Proponent ever since. During that time he has been an Agile Developer, Scrum Master, Technical Lead, Java Architect, and for the last four years, an Agile Coach.

He is currently with Accenture specializing in Agile Transformation in the Large Enterprise and teaching teams XP Fundamentals.

John is a Certified Scrum Professional and a Certified Scrum Master.

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