User Stories

User Stories: {{PROJECT_NAME}}

Project: {{PROJECT_NAME}} Version: {{VERSION}} Date: {{DATE}} Author: {{AUTHOR}} Status: Draft | In Review | Approved Reviewers: {{REVIEWERS}}

Document History

1. Epic Overview

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}}

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}}

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}}

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

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

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

Velocity (last sprint): {{STORY_POINTS_COMPLETED}} Projected completion: Sprint {{X}} ({{DATE}})

Approval