How to Jump-Start Requirements Gathering with User Stories

It is very early in your project; maybe as early as concept. How will you know what the system is supposed to do? There are many people with many different expectations and needs. You may have not even decided on whether you will develop the system using formal, informal, traditional, agile, incremental or some other approach. How can you deal with these difficulties, gather reasonable "requirements" early, and not waste the effort?

This training workshop introduces a technique referred to as User Stories (not to be confused with use case). This new technique focuses on business requirements, needs, and goals for the system. It avoids the trap of also trying to capture the system technical specifications. It starts by using a facilitated workshop approach to capture, in business language, the goals, objectives, or wants for the business system. Detail is added over time as needed to understand each story at an appropriate level. Business driven test scenarios are used to expand everyone’s understanding of each requirement. User stories enable constant and efficient communication among all parties interested in the final system outcome.

User stories are both complementary and supplemental to any of the other techniques that you might be using. User stories will make any of your other techniques easier and more complete without adding an extra burden of effort. As a bonus user stories can also help in very early cost forecasting (it too early to use the "estimating" word). See our expansion course below.

List the components of a user story
Identify the appropriate time to use user stories
List techniques for gathering user stories
Describe what makes a "good" user story
Explain the pros and cons of alternative ways to manage user stories
Describe how user stories support testing
Explain the strengths an weaknesses of User stories

ILT: 1 day
Virtual: 2 Mods

Business Analysts
Business Process Managers
Business process users
Subject Matter Experts
System Analysts
User liaison personnel
Anyone involved in defining or deciphering business system requirements.