Generate User Stories

With StoriesOnBoard AI
An AI assistant built into the story map

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Generate User Stories Like a Pro with AI Assistance

In this article, we will explore how AI technology can help you generate
user stories, saving you time and effort while improving the quality of
your projects.

User stories play a crucial role in Agile software development, helping

Product Owners, Product Managers, Business Analysts, Designers, and
Developers understand the needs and requirements of their users.
Traditionally, these stories are created by human professionals based
on their understanding of the project and many years of expertise.

However, AI-created user stories are offering a new level of efficiency

and creativity, and an opportunity to test our capabilities and expertise
in user story creation.

Fortunately, with the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI

technology, generating user stories has become easier and more
efficient than ever before. AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts
of data, user feedback, and industry trends to generate high-quality
user stories that align with your project goals, becoming something like
a virtual partner involved in the brainstorming process who can bring
new ideas and approaches.

Contents

What is a user story?

What are the benefits of user stories?
What are the acceptance criteria?
Why do you need acceptance criteria?
Why use AI to generate user stories?
How to generate user stories with StoriesOnBoard?
Is this AI user story generator reliable?
Conclusion

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What is a user story?

A user story is a brief description of a product feature, capability, or task

that should be implemented for the end user. It is written from the
perspective of the user and it’s about a goal that the user wants to
achieve with using the planned software.

User stories are becoming an increasingly important part of the Agile

methodology. Written in a specific format, they provide simple and
concise descriptions of features. This helps teams communicate and
collaborate on projects clearly, concisely, and effectively, preventing
misunderstandings and the resulting overwork and loss of time and
money.

User stories provide teams with a better understanding of what users

want, allowing them to develop features geared towards optimized user
journeys and user experience.

As a [type of user or role], I want to [end goal] so that I [do this].

Goal 1

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Story 1 Story 3 Story 4 Story 6

Story 2 Story 5 Story 7

Story 8

User Story Map User Story Example

Writing Great User Stories: A Guide for Business Analysts

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What are the benefits of user stories?

• User stories help to keep the focus and prioritize the end-user’s
intentions, goals, and needs during the software development
process

• User stories allow Agile teams to break down complex projects

into smaller, achievable tasks that can be worked on incrementally

• User stories are written in plain language and built on a simple

formula: As a [type of user or role], I want to [end goal] so that I
[do this]

• A good user story is estimable and testable.

What are the acceptance criteria?

User stories are usually accompanied by acceptance criteria – that

detail what must be done for the story to be considered complete.

Acceptance Criteria (AC are the lowest-level functional requirements

that a software product must meet to be accepted by users or
customers and to be compatible with other systems. They apply to
each user story and describe functionality from the end-user’s
perspective.

Why Do You Need Acceptance Criteria?

• Acceptance criteria help the software development team

understand and test whether the user story works as expected

• Acceptance criteria help to align the ideas of the customer, the

stakeholders, and the software development team

• Acceptance criteria help create automated tests, so ACs are

written with a base of a clear Pass / Fail result.

Understanding Acceptance Criteria: Examples and Best Practices

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 Why use AI to generate user stories?

The use of AI technology to generate user stories offers several

advantages compared to manually created user stories.

Firstly, AI-generated user stories are created faster. Secondly, they are
more accurate and efficient since they have been generated through
the analysis of large amounts of data and customer feedback.

Creating Agile user stories can be a lengthy and overwhelming process.

As such, AI technology has been developed to automate certain
aspects of this process to reduce costs and time spent manually
managing stories. AI-powered user story generation tools provide an
overview of customer needs quickly and accurately without losing any
meaning or context from the original intent behind the feature request.

The resulting output is efficient and easily understood by product

teams, clients, and stakeholders taking away much of the manual effort
associated with manual story creation.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE VIDEO

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Why use AI to generate user stories?

If you don’t have much experience in writing user stories, AI assistance

is a good way to learn how to write concise product visions, generate
user stories, and get the job done faster and more efficiently. User
story templates and examples are very useful for practicing user story
creation, but AI is faster and guarantees the same quality as if it were
created by the most experienced professionals.

If you’re a pro user story writer, incorporating AI-generated user stories

into your process still has advantages. Not only will AI user story
generation provide you with fresh ideas, but it will also fill any existing
gaps in your work.

How to generate user stories with StoriesOnBoard?

First, you need to sign up to StoriesOnBoard, and then you can try out
this tool as well as other product management features like story
mapping, roadmaps, prioritization, and feedback management.

Then start a new project and add some details to generate user stories,
such as the purpose of your project, the product type, its key features,
the target users, etc.

Generate user story with StoriesOnBoard

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 How to generate user stories with StoriesOnBoard?

After that create some goals and user steps, and then you’ll arrive at
the user story card creation step. The AI feature will offer some user
stories to select those that are relevant to your project. Place them on
the story map, under the user goals and steps they belong.

Choose a card to generate user stories with acceptance criteria and

other details, and the AI will do the job for you. You can re-generate
user stories if you don’t like the ones the app offers, and you can
choose which acceptance criteria you’d like to use in your project.

User story creation can be that simple.

Now you have a complete story map, but if you’d like to use user
stories or acceptance criteria elsewhere you can easily copy and paste
them into another app.

Generate user story and acceptance criteria with StoriesOnBoard

CLICK TO GENERATE THE BACKLOG

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 Backlog building and brainstorming with StoriesOnBoard AI

At StoriesOnBoard we focused on enabling users to either expand their user

story map with user goals or ask the AI to review the existing user journey
and identify missing steps. We invested significant effort in clarifying to the AI
the distinctions between user goals and user steps. Based on user feedback,
the outcomes have been persuasive.

StoriesOnBoard AI understands the differences between user goals,

user steps, and user stories.

If you built the backbone brainstorming user stories is just a few clicks away.

AI capabilities are also useful when working on an existing story map,

offering three distinct options:

Brainstorm potential user goals related to the product: This

can be beneficial for generating new ideas or initiatives.

Brainstorm and map the user journey: By adhering to a user

goal — whether it’s one you’ve created or one generated by
the AI StoriesOnBoard AI can help identify the necessary
user steps.

When you already have the story map’s backbone,

StoriesOnBoard AI can join the ideation process with the
specific context in mind. This ensures that the brainstormed
user stories are appropriately sized to integrate seamlessly
into the story map’s structure.

…and there is one more thing:

StoriesOnBoard AI reads your backlog and understands the level of detail. If

you work with smaller user goals and detailed journey mapping, the AI-
generated results will be tailored to align with the existing items, ensuring a
cohesive and consistent development process.

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User story specifications, acceptance criteria, and summaries

Building a story map with virtual sticky notes is a solid start, but the Product
Owner’s responsibilities extend beyond this initial process. It’s essential to
enrich each story with details and specifications, providing the development
team with vital information. During a story mapping session, it’s common
practice to jot down brief “user story titles” on the cards. This approach
keeps the cards readable and the story map straightforward.

For a more detailed understanding, the standard format of user stories, ‘As a
user, I want to…, so that…’, is placed in the description. This format offers
stakeholders additional context and specifics about the user’s needs and
motivations.

Learn more about StoriesOnBoard AI

How to create a story map using StoriesOnBoard AI assistant

How to generate an entire story map with StoriesOnBoard AI
All about StoriesOnBoard AI features

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User story specifications, acceptance criteria, and summaries

The inclusion of acceptance criteria in user stories is often essential.

Similar to the backlog creation process, StoriesOnBoard AI can generate
acceptance criteria from scratch. It can also understand criteria you’ve
already set and suggest additions to enhance them. Alternatively, you can
append further criteria to those generated by the AI, ensuring a
comprehensive and detailed user story is developed.

There’s one more thing we considered when designing the AI functionality —

providing content for the stakeholders because this is what could be a pain
in the ass. That’s why we added two features that can be used at iterations/
releases.

A release or iteration could contain dozens or even hundreds of user stories

that won’t be opened one by one by a stakeholder. They need a short
description of what the team has delivered in the release. This summary can
be added with a single click. Working with end-users? StoriesOnBoard AI
runs through the user stories, collects them into groups, and previews a
release announcement. The product owner can select items to be written
into the release announcement. Moreover, there are options to add as a
paragraph or just listed at the end of the announcement.

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Customize your AI assistant

Acknowledging the diversity in team dynamics, habits, and requirements,

we encountered a variety of requests for modifications in the format of
AI-generated text and for the inclusion of new features, such as technical
and non-technical requirements, when we introduced the initial versions
of acceptance criteria and user story writing features.

In response to these requests, we aimed not to overwhelm our users with

many options that might not be relevant to their needs. Instead, we opted
for a more user-centric approach by introducing the concept of AI
Templates.

This solution allows users to customize the output according to their

preferences and requirements, ensuring that the AI-generated content
aligns more closely with their unique workflows and documentation
standards.

The same user story in different formats:

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Customize your AI assistant

Templates empower users to modify the structure of user stories,

transitioning from the traditional “As a user…” format to alternatives like
the “Given…When…Then…” format or any other format that suits their
needs.

This customization is set up once at the beginning of creating a backlog,

and from that point on, StoriesOnBoard AI adheres to the chosen format,
ensuring consistency across the board.

This flexibility extends to the organization of acceptance criteria as well.

By default, StoriesOnBoard AI categorizes acceptance criteria into
groups, with the AI itself suggesting possible groupings.

Acceptance criteria, using the given-when-then format

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Customize your AI assistant

Acceptance criteria, splitting requirements into technical and

non-technical requirements

However, the possibilities for customization are vast. Users can define
their groups, such as distinguishing between “technical” and “non-
technical requirements,” or they may opt for a hybrid approach that
combines fixed group structures with AI-generated categories.

Learn more about StoriesOnBoard AI

How you can customize acceptance criteria templates

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Customize your AI assistant

Acceptance criteria, splitting requirements into custom groups as UX

and UI requirements

This level of customization allows teams to tailor the tool to their specific
project management styles and documentation needs, making the
process more efficient and aligned with their workflows.

Templates prove to be highly beneficial for those looking to adhere to

specific formatting preferences, such as bullet lists, numbered lists, or
even assigning IDs to each item. This feature enhances the organization
and readability of project documentation, catering to various
documentation standards and preferences.

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Customize your AI assistant

Beyond the adaptability offered by AI templates, the option to select the

AI’s language further customizes the experience. While some tools
provide automated language recognition, others are limited to responses
only in English.

Recognizing the need for greater flexibility, we introduced a language

selector that can be adjusted for each story map individually. This is
particularly advantageous for projects receiving inputs, such as user
feedback, in multiple languages. By accommodating language diversity,
we ensure that the tool is accessible and efficient for teams operating in
a global context, facilitating clearer communication and understanding
across diverse user bases.

What takes StoriesOnBoard AI way beyond the ‘standard AI features’

Brainstorming new ideas and writing summaries or specifications even

from tiny input is easy-peasy for chatGPT, but understanding the
essence of story mapping and the hierarchy of different backlog items is
what makes StoriesOnBoard AI really unique.

Plus, it understands how you want to create your backlog by adjusting

AI-generated content to your existing items and following the formats
you provide.

Try user story mapping with AI

Build your story map on StoriesOnBoard.com
Create your story map
 Customize your AI templates in StoriesOnBoard

You can fully customize your User Story and Acceptance Criteria templates
in StoriesOnBoard. This allows you to generate your content in seconds
according to your requirements.

User Story AI templates in StoriesOnBoard

Acceptance Criteria AI templates in StoriesOnBoard

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AI generated user story and acceptance criteria by StoriesOnBoard AI
Customize your AI templates in StoriesOnBoard

Let’s explore how StoriesOnBoard AI assistant can enable any custom

content you need. Create your AI template for your specific needs. Here
are two examples:

Write test cases

Collect subtasks

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Is this AI user story generator reliable?

Absolutely. StoriesOnBoard uses Open AI, and with the project

information you entered at the beginning of the process create a
detailed prompt to generate user stories and other effective and
original content for you.

Plus, StoriesOnBoard allows you to customize the AI-generated user

stories by editing or deleting them. That way, you can have complete
control over the stories created and keep them as close as possible to
your project’s needs.

The Benefits of AI for Product Managers

Conclusion

Writing user stories manually can be challenging, particularly when

dealing with a complex project and multiple user personas. AI-
powered user story generators offer a solution by streamlining the
process and providing objective assessments to ensure alignment
with customer needs.

StoriesOnBoard’s AI tool is a powerful tool for Product Owners,

Product Managers Business Analysts, or even Designers to use at the
beginning of their software development processes. It helps them
generate accurate and efficient user stories and acceptance criteria,
gather new ideas, fill the gaps, and create a story map from scratch
to discuss with their agile teams, clients, and stakeholders.

Easy and affordable product management

Start your project

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StoriesOnBoard is lightweight end-to-end product management platform helping
product teams build amazing products that users love, including:

• AI powered user story mapping

• Roadmaps and prioritization frameworks
• Feedback management (insights, ideas, portals)

Create your story map

Build products that users love.

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