How to write meaningful user stories

In 5(ish) easy steps

Before getting into how to write user stories, here’s a high level overview of what they are, and why they’re valuable.

User stories are a vital, humanizing part of the design process. They are told from the perspective of the user and are used to inspire and direct design decisions. No matter what your role is within the company, everyone can understand the viability of a solution when framed from the perspective of the user.

• Business oriented stakeholders will understand in plain language the value and the benefit of a feature
• Developers will have a clear idea of what they’re creating
• Product Managers will have a concise way of describing features to a client
• Last but certainly not least, the user is put at the forefront of all design decisions

Typically, user stories are written in the following format:

As a <user/role/who>
I want to <task/action/what>
So that <objective/purpose/why>

User stories are structured like this to keep things user focused, clear and actionable.

So..where exactly do you start?
Now that you’re totally sold on the idea behind user stories, let’s take a deep dive into how to write them.

Step 1: Start with a persona
This is easily the most important step. You need to have a solid understanding of your user persona in order to craft meaningful stories that actually speak to their needs, goals and frustrations. Your user persona is the foundation for the rest of the steps in this process, so make sure its compelling and accurate.

Step 2: Take your persona goals and convert them into epics
What goals does your user want to accomplish? Assess these goals and convert them into broad epics. If your users drivers licence has expired, and they’re looking to renew it in a timely manner, an appropriate epic may be minimize wait times at the DMV. Epics are broad, and define context. The goals of your persona will help determine the what functionality your product should include, and epics will give you a big picture idea of what your features will look like.

Step 3a: Distill your persona into roles
Your persona is dynamic! They may be a mother, a busy young adult, a new driver. Based on who your user is and what’s they’re trying to accomplish, what different roles do they assume?

Step 3b: Distill your epics into stories
And now you get to put your creativity to the test. Select an epic and break it down into a more granular form. For example, based on the epic of minimizing wait times at the DMV, a relevant story may be:
As a busy young adult I want to be able to access up to date wait times at the DMV in my area so that I can plan my time accordingly.

Step 4: Refine
Review your user stories and refine them. Are they relevant? Are they feasible? Can the what be translated into a feature?

Last but not least.. Step 5: Practice!
Writing meaningful user stories is a skill that can always be developed. Give it a shot, and continue to iterate and improve on your process.