Thousands of teams use ‘user stories’ in their system and product design process, and sometimes to great effect. However, user stories actually have a very specific role and context in which they are useful. Often they’re used by people who don’t know when they’re appropriate and, frankly, their use is often motivated by a desire to look professional and modern, not by a belief they are the best tool for the job.
Wait, what is a user story?
User stories are a format for capturing requirements. They have the origins in agile software development, but are often used in other contexts too. They describe a software feature from the perspective of an end user.
They certainly have their merits. In complex projects, the teams developing technology can get lost in their own world and user-centred design is easily forgotten. User stories can help keep discussions in the team focussed on the end user.
User stories follow a format: