What's Your Story?

  Agile   Requirements Management   Scrum   ProjectsAtWork  

Requirements in Agile environments are handled very differently than in projects following linear processes. In Scrum, requirements are collected and shared through user stories, which have a precise format that invites conversation and collaboration. Here are some examples and guidelines for writing effective user stories.

This article is excerpted from Chapter 5 of Introduction to Agile Methods (Pearson/Addison-Wesley Professional, June 2014) by Sondra Ashmore and Kristin Runyan.

A big difference between the Waterfall methodology and Agile is the way that requirements are collected and shared. In Waterfall, all requirements need to be collected in their entirety before they are passed to IT for evaluation. Waterfall is a linear process where one stage must end before the next stage can begin; therefore, all requirements must be known and documented up front and completely.

As you can imagine, this is nearly impossible because the marketplace is dynamic and things are constantly evolving. The result is frustration between product people and developers, because the developers never think that they are getting everything they need, and the product people are frustrated because there is no way for them to have thought through every possible detail.

The other problem with this method of exchanging requirements is the lack of dialogue. Product people …

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