User Stories in Scrum: Who Writes Them?
In the world of Scrum, user stories have become a popular and effective way for Scrum Teams to define their product requirements and features. However, one common question that Scrum Teams have is:
“Who is responsible for writing these user stories?”
In this article, we will explore the role of user stories in Scrum and shed light on the accountability and delegation of this crucial task.
What are User Stories?
User stories serve as a natural way to define product requirements and features from the user's perspective. They explicitly mention the "who," "what," and "why" of a particular feature. Through user stories, teams can gain a clear understanding of the user's needs and align their efforts accordingly.
For example, here’s one user story that would be relevant for Instagram:
"As an Instagram user, I want to tag my my friends and family in my post, so they know I'm thinking of them."
The Scrum Guide and User Stories
Formally, user stories are not part of Scrum, and the Scrum Guide does not provide any specific guidelines or instructions on how Product Owners should define their product requirements or features.
The Scrum Guide only states that the Product Owner is responsible for defining clear Product Backlog items that are transparent and well-understood by everyone in the team regardless the format they are presented in.
This lack of explicit guidance can sometimes lead to confusion and misconceptions.
Perceptions Around Product Owners and User Stories
Two common perceptions exist when it comes to user story creations. Some people firmly believe that Product Owners must always be the one writing the user stories. While others feel that Product Owners are just too busy, and their time is much better spent on strategic activities rather than writing user stories.
The Role of the Product Owner
As a key player in the Scrum Team, a Product Owner’s primary focus should be to consistently make all necessary efforts to move towards the product goals. And for this to happen, the Product Owner must ensure that a well-defined Product Backlog is available to share with the team, so everyone has clear understanding of what the product is meant to achieve, along with the work that needs to happen to get there.
This means that the accountability for the creation of Product Backlog items, whether in the form of user stories or any other format, always lies with the Product Owner.
User Story Creation
Here's some great news for Product Owners: you can delegate the task of writing user stories. This could be to Business Analysts or other team members – it's a choice you and your team need to make together.
By handing over the creation of user stories, Product Owners can use their time more efficiently. This shift allows them to concentrate on strategic planning and managing stakeholders, while still ensuring the user stories are being crafted.
But remember, no matter who writes them, the Product Owner remain accountable. they’re still responsible for making sure every item in the Product Backlog is clear and understood by the whole team.
Conclusion
User stories are a common method used by Scrum Teams to describe product requirements and features from the user's point of view. Even though they're not officially a part of the Scrum framework, their simplicity makes them a popular choice.
In the real world, it's quite usual for Product Owners to let other team members handle the creation of user stories. This approach helps everyone use their time effectively. But it's important to remember that, no matter who writes these stories, the Product Owner is always responsible for making sure every item in the Product Backlog is clear and understood to the entire team.
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