User Stories
User Stories: {{PROJECT_NAME}}
Project: {{PROJECT_NAME}} Version: {{VERSION}} Date: {{DATE}} Author: {{AUTHOR}} Status: Draft | In Review | Approved Reviewers: {{REVIEWERS}}
Document History
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | {{DATE}} | {{AUTHOR}} | Initial draft |
1. Epic Overview
| Epic ID | Epic Name | Business Goal | Story Count | Status | Target Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP-01 | {{EPIC_NAME}} | {{BUSINESS_GOAL}} | {{COUNT}} | Backlog / In Progress | {{RELEASE}} |
| EP-02 | |||||
| EP-03 |
2. Epic Templates
Epic: EP-01 — {{EPIC_NAME}}
Epic Statement: As a {{PERSONA}}, I need {{CAPABILITY}} so that {{BUSINESS_VALUE}}.
Business Goal: {{BUSINESS_OBJECTIVE_REFERENCE}} Priority: Must Have | Should Have | Could Have Estimated Size: {{X}} story points (rough) Target Sprint(s): Sprint {{X}} – Sprint {{Y}}
Acceptance Criteria at Epic Level:
- {{HIGH_LEVEL_CRITERION_1}}
- {{HIGH_LEVEL_CRITERION_2}}
- {{HIGH_LEVEL_CRITERION_3}}
Stories in This Epic:
- US-001: {{STORY_TITLE}}
- US-002: {{STORY_TITLE}}
- US-003: {{STORY_TITLE}}
3. Story Format Guide
Standard Story Format:
As a [persona/role],
I want [feature/action],
So that [benefit/outcome].
Acceptance Criteria Format (Given/When/Then):
Given [a precondition that must be true],
When [the user performs an action],
Then [the expected outcome occurs].
Key Principles:
- Stories describe WHAT the user needs, not HOW to build it
- Each story must be independently valuable and testable
- Stories should be completable within a single sprint
- If a story takes > 8 story points, break it into smaller stories
- Acceptance criteria should be written as tests (they become test cases)
4. Story Backlog
Epic EP-01: {{EPIC_NAME}}
US-001: {{STORY_TITLE}}
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Epic | EP-01: {{EPIC_NAME}} |
| Priority | Must Have |
| Story Points | 1 |
| Sprint | {{SPRINT_NUMBER}} |
| Assigned To | {{AGENT/PERSON}} |
| Status | Backlog |
| FR Reference | FR-{{XXX}} |
| BR Reference | BR-{{XXX}} |
Story: As a {{PERSONA}}, I want {{ACTION/FEATURE}}, So that {{BENEFIT/OUTCOME}}.
Context: {{ADDITIONAL_CONTEXT_THAT_HELPS_UNDERSTAND_THE_STORY}}
Acceptance Criteria:
- Given {{PRECONDITION}}, when {{USER_ACTION}}, then {{EXPECTED_RESULT}}
- Given {{PRECONDITION}}, when {{USER_ACTION}}, then {{EXPECTED_RESULT}}
- Given {{ERROR_CONDITION}}, when {{USER_ACTION}}, then {{ERROR_HANDLING}}
Technical Notes:
- {{TECHNICAL_CONSTRAINT_OR_HINT}}
UI/UX Notes:
- Screen / component: {{SCREEN_NAME}}
- Design reference: {{FIGMA_LINK_OR_FILE}}
- Responsive behavior: {{NOTES}}
Dependencies:
- Blocked by: {{US-XXX | None}}
- Blocks: {{US-XXX | None}}
- External: {{THIRD_PARTY_DEPENDENCY | None}}
Definition of Done:
- Code complete and follows coding standards
- Unit tests written (≥ 80% coverage on new code)
- Code review approved by Tech Lead
- Merged to
develop - Deployed to staging
- All acceptance criteria manually verified
- No critical or high bugs open
- Documentation updated (if applicable)
US-002: {{STORY_TITLE}}
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Epic | EP-01 |
| Priority | Must Have |
| Story Points | {{POINTS}} |
| Sprint | {{SPRINT}} |
| Assigned To | {{AGENT}} |
| Status | Backlog |
| FR Reference | FR-{{XXX}} |
Story: As a {{PERSONA}}, I want {{ACTION}}, So that {{BENEFIT}}.
Acceptance Criteria:
- Given {{PRECONDITION}}, when {{USER_ACTION}}, then {{EXPECTED_RESULT}}
- Given {{PRECONDITION}}, when {{USER_ACTION}}, then {{EXPECTED_RESULT}}
Dependencies: Blocked by: {{US-001 | None}}
Definition of Done: (same as standard DoD above)
Epic EP-02: {{EPIC_NAME}}
US-010: {{STORY_TITLE}}
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Epic | EP-02 |
| Priority | Should Have |
| Story Points | {{POINTS}} |
| Sprint | {{SPRINT}} |
| Assigned To | {{AGENT}} |
| Status | Backlog |
Story: As a {{PERSONA}}, I want {{ACTION}}, So that {{BENEFIT}}.
Acceptance Criteria:
- Given {{PRECONDITION}}, when {{USER_ACTION}}, then {{EXPECTED_RESULT}}
Dependencies: None
Definition of Done: (standard DoD)
5. Story Estimation Guide
| Points | Complexity | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trivial | Update a label, fix a CSS bug, add a config option |
| 2 | Simple | Simple form field, read-only data display, static page |
| 3 | Moderate | CRUD for one entity, simple filter, email notification |
| 5 | Complex | Multi-step form, API integration, complex UI component |
| 8 | Very Complex | New module with CRUD + logic + UI + tests |
| 13+ | Too Large | Break into smaller stories |
Planning Poker: Use async estimation — each team member estimates independently, then compare and discuss outliers.
6. Definition of Ready Checklist
Before a story can be added to a sprint, verify:
- Story is written in As a / I want / So that format
- Story has at least 2 acceptance criteria in Given/When/Then format
- Story has been estimated in story points
- Dependencies are identified and not blocking
- UI/UX design exists (or story is backend-only)
- Technical approach is understood (no major unknowns)
- Priority is assigned (MoSCoW)
- Story size is ≤ 8 points (or confirmed as a spike)
- Acceptance criteria are testable by QA
- FR reference documented
7. Story Breakdown Techniques
| Technique | When to Use | How |
|---|---|---|
| CRUD Split | Create/Read/Update/Delete are all in one story | Split into 4 stories (View, Create, Edit, Delete) |
| Happy Path First | Story handles many edge cases | First story = happy path only; subsequent stories = edge cases |
| Data Variations | Story handles many data types | Split by data type or category |
| Workflow Steps | Multi-step process in one story | Split by step (Step 1 as standalone value, etc.) |
| User Type Split | Different users, different experiences | One story per user type |
| Performance Deferred | Core function + performance optimization mixed | Functional story first; performance story second |
| UI + API Split | Full-stack story too large | API story first; UI story depends on API story |
8. Story Mapping Visualization
USER JOURNEY: [Discovery] → [Registration] → [Core Feature] → [Management] → [Reporting]
MVP US-001 US-020 US-030 US-040 —
(Release 1)
Release 2 — US-021 US-031 US-041 US-050
Release 3 — — US-032 US-042 US-051
Replace with actual story IDs mapped to user journey steps and release priority
9. Backlog Summary
| Epic | Total Stories | Estimated Points | In Sprint | Done | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP-01: {{NAME}} | {{COUNT}} | {{POINTS}} | {{COUNT}} | {{COUNT}} | {{COUNT}} |
| EP-02: {{NAME}} | |||||
| Total |
Velocity (last sprint): {{STORY_POINTS_COMPLETED}} Projected completion: Sprint {{X}} ({{DATE}})
Approval
| Role | Name | Date | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | |||
| Reviewer | |||
| Business Analyst | |||
| Product Owner | |||
| AI Director (John) |