User stories and acceptance criteria
The user story (as a, I want, so that), the six INVEST qualities, verifiable acceptance criteria (Given, When, Then) and splitting a story that is too big.
- 21 cards
- 3 topics
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Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
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A few cards from the deck
User story: what is it?
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A short description of a need from the point of view of the person who has it, in the form “As a role, I want action so that benefit”.
The story is a promise of a conversation, not a complete specification: it says for whom and why, and leaves the how to the team.
Which of these statements is a well-formed user story?
- As a customer, I want to track my order so that I know when to expect delivery
- As a developer, I want to create an Orders table so that the data of the site is stored
- The system must allow customers to view the status of their orders online
- As a customer, I want an orange button at the top right of the home page of the site
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As a customer, I want to track my order so that I know when to expect delivery
A good story has a role, a goal and a value for the user. The others give a technical means, a requirement without a beneficiary or a screen detail.
In a story, the “so that” part expresses the … the user is looking for, not the technical way of producing it.
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In a story, the “so that” part expresses the value the user is looking for, not the technical way of producing it.
“so that I can keep the book longer” justifies the story; “so that a column is added to the table” is no value for the member.
Acceptance criterion: what is it?
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A precise, verifiable condition that must be met before a story can be called finished.
It turns “it's done” into a yes-or-no answer: a criterion nobody can test does not close the story.
A story requires “use the React library with a five-column table”. Which INVEST quality does it break?
- Independent: it waits for another story
- Negotiable: the solution is imposed
- Estimable: the effort cannot be sized
- Valuable: it serves no user
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Negotiable: the solution is imposed
A story describes the need and lets the team choose the solution; imposing the technology and the layout removes the conversation the story is meant to enable.