User Stories: Your Recipe Cards for Building Amazing Things 🍰

Imagine you’re a chef in a busy kitchen. Every day, hungry customers come in with requests: “I want something sweet!” or “Can I have a quick lunch?” You don’t just start cooking randomly—you write down exactly what each customer wants on a little recipe card.

User Stories are exactly like those recipe cards—but for building software!

What is a User Story?

A User Story is a simple sentence that describes what someone wants and why they want it.

Think of it like a wish list item that explains:

• WHO is wishing
• WHAT they wish for
• WHY they want it

Real-Life Example

Your little sister wants to watch her favorite cartoon:

“I want the TV remote so I can watch cartoons because I finished my homework.”

That’s basically a user story! It tells us:

• Who: Your little sister
• What: The TV remote
• Why: To watch cartoons as a reward

The User Story Format

Every user story follows a magical formula:

As a [WHO]
I want [WHAT]
So that [WHY]

Example: Online Shopping App

As a busy parent
I want to save items to my cart
So that I can buy them later when I have time

Example: Music App

As a music lover
I want to create playlists
So that I can listen to my favorite songs together

Why This Format Works

The Three Cs of User Stories

User Stories have three magical ingredients—all starting with C!

graph TD
    A[📝 Card] --> B[💬 Conversation]
    B --> C[✅ Confirmation]
    style A fill:#FFE4B5
    style B fill:#98FB98
    style C fill:#87CEEB

1. Card (The Promise)

Write the story on a small card—like a sticky note. Keep it short!

“As a student, I want to see my grades online so I can track my progress.”

Why small? Because it’s just a starting point, not the whole plan!

2. Conversation (The Discussion)

The card starts a talk between everyone involved:

• Developers ask: “How should grades look?”
• Designers ask: “Should we use colors for different grades?”
• Users explain: “I want to see trends over time!”

The real details come from talking, not just reading the card!

3. Confirmation (The Test)

How do we know we’re done? We create tests!

✓ Student can see all subjects ✓ Grades show as percentages ✓ Graph shows progress over time

INVEST Criteria: The Quality Checklist

Want to write GREAT user stories? Make sure they pass the INVEST test!

INVEST in Action

❌ Bad Story:

“As a user, I want the app to be good.”

Why it fails:

• Not Valuable (too vague)
• Not Testable (what is “good”?)
• Not Small (how big is this?)

✅ Good Story:

“As a user, I want to reset my password via email so I can regain access if I forget it.”

Why it passes:

• Independent: Works on its own
• Negotiable: Can discuss email vs SMS
• Valuable: Solves a real problem
• Estimable: Team can size it
• Small: One clear feature
• Testable: Send email, click link, done!

Acceptance Criteria: The Finish Line

Acceptance Criteria are the specific tests that prove a story is DONE.

Think of them as a checklist:

Story:

“As a shopper, I want to filter products by price so I can find affordable items.”

Acceptance Criteria:

✓ Price range slider appears on product page
✓ Slider has min ($0) and max ($1000) values
✓ Products update instantly when slider moves
✓ "No products found" shows if range is empty
✓ Filter resets when page refreshes

Format Options

Given-When-Then:

GIVEN I am on the products page
WHEN I set the price filter to $10-$50
THEN only products in that range appear

Checklist Style:

• [ ] User can set minimum price
• [ ] User can set maximum price
• [ ] Results update in real-time
• [ ] Works on mobile screens

Story Splitting: When Stories Get Too Big

Sometimes a story is too big—like trying to eat a whole pizza in one bite! 🍕

Solution: Split it into smaller, yummy slices!

Splitting Techniques

graph TD
    A[🍕 BIG Story] --> B[📍 By Steps]
    A --> C[📊 By Data Type]
    A --> D[👥 By User Type]
    A --> E[🎯 By Business Rule]
    A --> F[⚡ By Simple/Complex]

Example: “User can search for products”

Too big! Let’s split it:

Before & After

Before (Too Big):

“As a user, I want to manage my account so I can control my settings.”

After (Just Right):

1. “As a user, I want to change my password…”
2. “As a user, I want to update my email…”
3. “As a user, I want to upload a profile picture…”
4. “As a user, I want to delete my account…”

Epics and Themes: The Big Picture

What’s an Epic?

An Epic is a HUGE user story—so big it needs to be broken into smaller stories.

Think of it like a chapter in a book!

graph TD
    A[📚 EPIC: User Account] --> B[📖 Change Password]
    A --> C[📖 Update Email]
    A --> D[📖 Profile Picture]
    A --> E[📖 Delete Account]
    style A fill:#FFB6C1

Example Epic

Epic: “As a customer, I want to manage my shopping cart.”

Stories inside:

1. Add items to cart
2. Remove items from cart
3. Update quantities
4. Save cart for later
5. Apply discount codes

What’s a Theme?

A Theme groups related Epics together—like a bookshelf of related chapters!

graph TD
    A[🎨 THEME: User Experience] --> B[📚 Epic: Account]
    A --> C[📚 Epic: Shopping]
    A --> D[📚 Epic: Support]
    style A fill:#DDA0DD

Backlog Item Hierarchy: The Family Tree

Everything fits together like a family tree!

graph TD
    A[🌳 THEME] --> B[📚 EPIC]
    B --> C[📖 STORY]
    C --> D[✅ TASK]
    style A fill:#FFD700
    style B fill:#FF6347
    style C fill:#3CB371
    style D fill:#87CEEB

Real-World Example

Theme: E-commerce Platform

Epic: Product Catalog

• Story: View product list
• Story: Search products
• Story: Filter by category

Epic: Shopping Cart

• Story: Add to cart
• Story: Update quantity
• Story: Checkout

Epic: User Account

• Story: Register
• Story: Login
• Story: Profile settings

Putting It All Together

graph TD
    A[Write Story Card] --> B[Have Conversations]
    B --> C[Define Acceptance Criteria]
    C --> D{Too Big?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Split the Story]
    D -->|No| F[Check INVEST]
    E --> F
    F --> G[Add to Backlog]
    G --> H[Organize in Epics/Themes]
    style G fill:#90EE90

Quick Memory Trick

You’re Ready!

Now you know how to:

• ✅ Write user stories that everyone understands
• ✅ Use the magic formula (As a… I want… So that…)
• ✅ Apply the Three Cs
• ✅ Check quality with INVEST
• ✅ Define clear acceptance criteria
• ✅ Split big stories into small ones
• ✅ Organize with Epics and Themes
• ✅ Build a proper backlog hierarchy

Remember: Great user stories are like great recipes—clear, simple, and focused on what really matters to the person you’re serving!

Happy story writing! 🚀