Okuzeka
Project Management vocabulary · Agile & Scrum

User story

Meaning in project management, with examples

/ˌjuːzər ˈstɔːri/nounCore term

In project management, user story means: A short, simple description of a feature from the point of view of the person who will use it, often written as: As a [user], I want [something] so that [benefit].

In Turkish: kullanıcı hikayesi, user story

How it is used

The most common way to write backlog items in agile teams. User stories are written, split, estimated and accepted. Each story usually has acceptance criteria and an estimate in story points.

Example sentences

  1. Here's the user story: as a customer, I want to save my card details so that I can pay faster next time.

  2. This user story is too big for one sprint, so let's split it into three smaller ones.

Common collocations

  • write a user story
  • split a user story
  • user story format
  • estimate a user story
  • backlogAn ordered list of all the work that might be done on a product, such as features, fixes and improvements, with the most important items at the top.
  • acceptance criteriaThe specific, agreed conditions that a deliverable or user story must meet before the client or product owner will accept it as complete.
  • story pointsA unit agile teams use to estimate the relative size of work, combining effort, complexity and uncertainty instead of counting hours.
  • requirementSomething that the final product or result must do or have, as agreed with the client or users, for example a function, a performance level or a legal rule.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Agile & Scrum

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: