Project Management

Use Cases or User Stories: Where Should Agile Teams Start?

PMI Durham Highlands Chapter

Kevin Aguanno is the agile practice lead for Procept Associates Ltd., one of PMI’s first Registered Education Providers, specializing in training and project and programme strategy consulting. Author of over 30 books, audiobooks and DVDs on project management topics, he teaches agile methods at several universities and at conferences around the world. He spends most of his time helping large, complex organizations integrate agile project management methods into their governance frameworks.

One of the more contentious debates that seems to never be resolved is of keen interest to all agile practitioners: Should an agile team begin with requirements documented as use cases or user stories? Proponents from both sides of the debate make good arguments for their individual positions, leading to confusion for many who are just getting started with agile practices.

The Fundamental Problem
Some practitioners say that use cases are necessary for their project’s success, while others state that use cases are inefficient--a waste of time--and that user stories are a better way to document project requirements. The reason this debate continues on over the years is that they are both right.

Every project is unique. Certainly, projects can be grouped based on factors such as complexity, size, risk, industry and solution type; however, neither of these affects the use case versus user story decision. There must be some factor other than project characteristics driving the debate.

Use Cases
For those who are not familiar with the use case concept, here’s a quick overview. A use case is a way of documenting a business transaction or a process flow. It details the process steps, the people and systems involved in each step, the related business rules and the manner in which exceptions to the business rules are handled. A use case also establishes pre…


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