5 useful tips for creating your user stories

Scrum is a popular framework for managing software development projects. At the heart of Scrum are user stories—simple yet powerful tools that communicate what needs to be done, for whom, and why. In our case, the stories guide the entire team when working on software projects for our clients, often utilizing user story mapping to visualize and organize the journey from start to finish.

What Are User Stories and How to Make the Most of Them?

User stories may seem deceptively simple, but they are very deep. They are concise descriptions of a feature or need, expressed from the user's perspective who will benefit from it. Traditionally, these stories are written on index cards and arranged on office walls, but many teams manage them digitally today.

While writing a user story might look straightforward, creating effective ones requires careful thought and collaboration. Here are five key tips to help product owners and teams create meaningful user stories that avoid common pitfalls.

1. Don’t Just Hand Over Your Stories—Discuss Them!

The main purpose of a user story isn't simply to convey a written requirement to the delivery team. Instead, it’s to spark conversation—and often, lots of it! In Scrum, discussions between different roles are crucial to ensuring that all expertise is fully utilized when crafting user stories.

If you write down your user stories and hand them over, there’s a high chance they could be interpreted in various ways. Discussing them openly with the team ensures everyone is on the same page, preventing misunderstandings and miscommunication.

Even more importantly, these discussions lead to better solutions through shared insights. With the entire team involved, you’re more likely to identify potential gaps, uncover new approaches, and ultimately optimize your user stories and solutions.

EXAMPLE: Imagine you are working on a Customer Data Platform (CDP) that needs to provide insights into customer behavior. A user story might state, "As a marketing manager, I want to view a detailed customer journey so that I can better understand user engagement."

If you just hand this story over without discussion, different team members might interpret "detailed customer journey" differently. By discussing it, the team can align on what insights are required, what data sources to include, and how the interface should look, ensuring everyone has the same understanding and the end result is exactly what the user needs.

2. Experiment with Different Story Formats

What’s the best way to write a user story? Should it start with “I suggest…” or “I want…”? Should you explain the need with “so that I can…” or “in order to…”?

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for writing user stories—and that’s okay. Rather than getting caught up in debates about which format is best, focus on experimenting. Different projects, teams, and contexts may call for different approaches.

If you rigidly stick to one template, you risk creating stories that aren’t genuine needs, just because they fit the format. Ensure that your stories represent real user needs. By experimenting with various formats, you may unlock new perspectives and creative discussions, leading to more effective user stories.

EXAMPLE: For instance, consider writing a story for a CDP feature like "As a sales rep, I want to see a customer's recent purchases so that I can provide personalized recommendations." Alternatively, you could frame it as "In order to offer personalized support, I want access to a customer's recent purchase history." Experimenting with different ways to present the story may lead the team to new insights on prioritising the feature and serving the end user.

3. Describe the Behavior Change

How do you prioritize user stories based on value? Often, there’s a disconnect between what the delivery team builds and what business users value most. To bridge this gap, always describe the behavior change a story aims to achieve, not just the behavior itself.

For instance, a story that states “users should be able to import contacts” doesn’t tell the team what’s new or why it matters. Instead, framing it as “users should be able to upload contacts more quickly” helps communicate the value. This approach sparks discussions about the intended outcome and helps the team understand the broader impact.

When a user story captures the desired behavior change, it’s easier to set clear acceptance criteria and assess whether the story delivers value from a business perspective.

EXAMPLE: For example, consider a story for a CDP that states, "As a user, I want to generate a customer segmentation report." If the behavior change isn’t clear, the value remains ambiguous. Instead, describing it as "As a marketing user, I want to generate a customer segmentation report quickly so that I can target high-value customers more efficiently" captures both the desired outcome and its value. This helps prioritize the story and establish clear acceptance criteria, ensuring that the solution truly benefits the user.

4. Clarify the System Change

In addition to describing user behavior, it’s essential to outline the system changes required to achieve it. User stories often address changes to existing features rather than creating entirely new ones. Clearly describing what needs to change in the system helps define the story’s scope.

For example, follow “I want” with “Instead of” to highlight how the system should differ after the story is implemented. This helps the team understand the complexity of the work, evaluate feasibility, and refine the story as needed. Clarifying these changes can reveal if a story is too big, too small, or if the scope needs adjustment.

EXAMPLE: Suppose a user story says, "As an admin, I want to add new attributes to the customer profiles." Adding system change details like "Instead of manually updating individual profiles" gives the team context on what specific changes need to be implemented.

In a CDP context, this might mean adding automated data ingestion capabilities to enrich customer profiles with minimal manual input, which helps in defining the scope and complexity more clearly.

5. Add a “Best Before” Date to Specific Stories

One of the biggest strengths of user stories is their flexibility—allowing stakeholders to adjust priorities and scope regularly. However, this flexibility can sometimes lead to urgent user stories getting overlooked until it’s almost too late.

To avoid this, add a “best before” date to time-sensitive stories and separate them from the rest of the backlog. This way, they can be addressed early, avoiding last-minute scrambles. Handling these stories at a sustainable pace can save the team from unnecessary stress and firefighting.

EXAMPLE: Imagine a story that says, "As a marketing lead, I need a customer insights dashboard ready for the holiday campaign." Without a specific deadline, this request might get lost among other priorities. Adding a "best before" date like "This dashboard must be live by November 15th" ensures the team is aware of the timeline, enabling better planning and ensuring the feature is available when it will have the most impact.

Final Thoughts

Creating great user stories isn’t just about writing concise, effective requirements—it’s about fostering the collaboration, discussion, and shared understanding that makes Scrum successful. By trying different approaches, being clear about the value and changes involved, and maintaining focus on deadlines, you can ensure your stories guide your team effectively.