More and more, I think we should avoid that Mike-Cohn "As a X I need Y to do Z" format for stories. For one thing, people start thinking that if they follow the formula, they have a story, which is simply not true. 1/4
A story is just that—a story. It’s a narrative that takes someone in a domain-level role through a domain-level process to a useful outcome. It describes the domain, not a computer program, and describes how someone in some role achieves something valuable. 2/4
It's better, I think, to specify a story with a few sentences written on an index card or post-it that captures the role, process, and value. The formula moves us away from the narrative nature of a story in the direction of some "thing" we need to add to the program. 3/4
All too often, the As-a formula for stories ends up describing a programmer task, not a valuable outcome. Stories should define outcomes, not things. It should tell us what we need to achieve, not how to achieve it. 4/4
