Being Agile doesn't mean you don't need requirements well. Being Agile means as lean as possible and as quick as possible. On this article, we will discuss four terms in Agile that can help you to shape the user requirements. Let's get started.
#1 Epic
Epic is a big user story. Epic can tell the big picture or user story. For example,
As a visitor I can register to the E-Commerce
This user story is a big story, he can register to the E-commerce with many ways such as Google Account, username and password, and many others. That's why we called it Epic.
#2 Features
Something useful that exists in the system that we build. One Epic will have one or more features. The idea of features is hold in the system point of view rather than user point of view. In the example, Epic discuss from the visitor point of view, while the feature will have e-commerce point of view such as.
Quick registration feature, single sign on registration feature
Quick registration means the system will support username and password registration. While the SSO registration uses existing accounts such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and many others.
#3 User Story
User story is a story from the user point of view. While Epic focuses in a big picture, the user story is the smallest part of user requirements in Agile. For example,
As a visitor I can register with my Google Account so that I can sign in with Google ID
#4 Usage Scenario
The detailed version of user story. The usage scenario discusses the communication between the user and the system. One user story has one usage scenario. The user story can be described as textual or as a diagram such as flowchart. You can see the example here. The usage scenario can add more information such as data requirements, result format, and constraints.
Put it all together!
Terms | Example | Notes |
Epic | As a visitor I can register to the E-Commerce | One system will have one or more Epic |
Features | single sign on registration | One Epic will have one or more features |
User Story | As a visitor I can register with my Google Account so that I can sign in with Google ID | One feature will have one or more user story |
Usage Scenario | - Visitor clicks the Google ID Account
- E-Commerce will redirect to the Google Sign in Page
- Visitor put the username and password of his Google ID
- Google will send the authorization token.
- E-commerce will request full name, email, and gender.
- Visitors approve the data requirements.
- E-commerce will process Google Account data to create the account.
- E-commerce will send email conformation.
- Visitor will click the email confirmation
| One user story will have one usage scenario |
Acceptance criteria | - Visitors can disassociate the account.
- Visitor become E-commerce member.
- Visitor will have fulfilled fullname, email, and gender
| One user story will have one acceptance criteria |