INVEST in User Stories

Bart has been in ecommerce for over 20 years, and can't imagine a better job to have. He is interested in all things agile, or anything new to learn.

  Agile   Estimating   Requirements Management   ProjectsAtWork  

The most basic form of requirement in an Agile project is the User Story. It describes an actor, what the actor is trying to do, and the actor’s goals. Each story is unique, but they all should have the same components and adhere to the same guidelines. To make this happen, consider the acronym INVEST.

In Groom With A View (June 4, 2014), we briefly discussed the acronym DEEP, and how it relates to an Agile backlog. Subsequent comments and messages led me to believe that rather than being well-known, this concept was new to a lot of people. With that as a backdrop, I’d like to spend some time going over another acronym that is helpful when dealing with an Agile backlog: INVEST. This describes the characteristics of a good user story, which are the building blocks of a backlog in the first place.

Before I begin, my research shows that Bill Wake invented this description back in 2003. Much like DEEP, I am not claiming any credit on creating it; I just happen to think it’s important enough to share.

The most basic form of requirement in an Agile project is the User Story. It describes an actor, what the actor is trying to do, and what the actor’s goals are. Because each story is unique, it may seem that each story and situation is different, and therefore has different criteria for what makes a story a good one. But experience shows that all …

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