PM Tools: User Stories
User stories are a key artifact that product managers must create for their engineering teams. But not all user stories are the same, despite the commonly understood format:
“As a ____, I want _____ so that I can ______.
For most engineering teams, the quintessential user story is just the start of what the engineering team needs and wants.
Different Company, Different Needs
Every engineering team is different. Every engineering leader is different. In fact, I have seen the same engineering leader want different user story formats at different companies. (Just when I thought I had the perfect format, I learned context is everything. What was his favorite format in Company A just doesn’t cut it in Company B where the team, culture and product are different.)
Therefore, product managers must to adjust their approach accordingly. Start with a template but iterate until you find what works for your current team. The templates are inspiration, not rule of law.
No matter what format you use, adjust the stories to your team’s needs until you find the right approach for your team.
My Favorite Format
My favorite format for user stories came from a TPM I worked with at Amazon who developed his core format while at Microsoft. So the format comes with a lot of pedigree. You can make a copy for yourself here.
Why I love it
Context to Start: The first page lists all the stories and deadlines for context.
Covers the Basics: User Story Format, Acceptance Criteria, Business Flow, and Conditions
Allows for Context: Usability Requirements, Logging requirements
Catches Edge Cases: Alternative Flow, On Failure, Possible Complexities
I have found that every team is different. If you work with any backend teams the context and logging is crucial. For example, does the engineering team need to make adjustments to the logging to properly measure the impact of the changes on user behavior logs - this one gets forgotten more than I feel is reasonable. .
I have also included things like attribution modeling changes and other things that are hyper-specific to the team and company.
Use the Template
You can make a copy for yourself here.
Looking for the Basics?
Check out this article “User Story Basics.” It is an aggregation of a lot of good POVs on User Stories.
Resources:
Photo by Jo Szczepanska on Unsplash