Comments on: What are user stories, and why should I use them? http://jonathanbabcock.com/2007/11/03/what-are-user-stories-and-why-should-i-use-them/ Business Analysis | Software Methodology | Process Improvement Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:06:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: JB http://jonathanbabcock.com/2007/11/03/what-are-user-stories-and-why-should-i-use-them/#comment-561 JB Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:11:33 +0000 http://jonathanbabcock.com/2007/11/03/what-are-user-stories-and-why-should-i-use-them/#comment-561 I appreciate the comment, Kevin - and I love the new IIBA blog. You guys are doing a great job. I also got the impression that there isn't a great deal of difference - semantics aside - between the user story and the use case scenario. I'm admittedly more a student of agile methods than a practitioner. I've read the books,the articles and the blogs and have participated in a few quick projects that were termed "XP" or "rapid development", but have never worked extensively in what purists would consider an agile environment. I do have to agree that, regardless of the methodology, tossing documentation that represents important decisions and rules seems like risky business. I appreciate the comment, Kevin - and I love the new IIBA blog. You guys are doing a great job.

I also got the impression that there isn’t a great deal of difference - semantics aside - between the user story and the use case scenario.

I’m admittedly more a student of agile methods than a practitioner. I’ve read the books,the articles and the blogs and have participated in a few quick projects that were termed “XP” or “rapid development”, but have never worked extensively in what purists would consider an agile environment. I do have to agree that, regardless of the methodology, tossing documentation that represents important decisions and rules seems like risky business.

]]> By: Kevin Brennan http://jonathanbabcock.com/2007/11/03/what-are-user-stories-and-why-should-i-use-them/#comment-556 Kevin Brennan Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:29:58 +0000 http://jonathanbabcock.com/2007/11/03/what-are-user-stories-and-why-should-i-use-them/#comment-556 Except for the "torn up and thrown away" part, it seems to me that "scenario" (in use case terminology) and "user story" are pretty much identical. As for the "torn up and thrown away" part--well, I have yet to find a place where this actually was OK in real life. Almost every Agile project I've encountered ended up requiring a major documentation effort after the project wound down and the business owners started to realize that the only people who knew how the system worked were leaving. Except for the “torn up and thrown away” part, it seems to me that “scenario” (in use case terminology) and “user story” are pretty much identical.

As for the “torn up and thrown away” part–well, I have yet to find a place where this actually was OK in real life. Almost every Agile project I’ve encountered ended up requiring a major documentation effort after the project wound down and the business owners started to realize that the only people who knew how the system worked were leaving.

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