An epic user story is a large, high-level user story that outlines a significant feature or capability that a product or project should have. It is usually too big to fit into a single sprint or iteration, so it is broken down into smaller user stories and tasks.
Epic user stories provide several benefits, including:
An epic user story typically includes the following information:
Epic user stories are best used to identify and prioritize high-level features and capabilities that a product or project should have. They can help teams focus on delivering value to users and stakeholders and break down complex features into smaller, more manageable pieces. Epic user stories can also facilitate communication between stakeholders and development teams and help ensure that everyone is aligned on the overall goals and objectives of the project.
The first step is to identify the goal or objective of the user story. This is usually a high-level business goal or a problem that needs to be solved. It should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
The next step is to determine the user personas or the types of users who will be interacting with the system. This will help you understand their needs and behaviors, which will inform the design of the user story.
The epic user story should be broken down into smaller, more manageable user stories that can be tackled by the development team. These smaller stories should be independent and deliverable, and should have a clear value to the end user.
Each user story should follow the format: "As a [user persona], I want [goal] so that [benefit]." The user story should be concise and specific, and should focus on the needs and goals of the user.
Once you have a list of user stories, you should prioritize them based on their value to the user and the business. This will help you determine which stories should be tackled first and which can wait until later.
Finally, you should estimate the effort required to complete each user story. This will help you determine how many stories can be completed in a given sprint or release, and will help you manage expectations with stakeholders.
There is no set length for an epic user story, but it should be long enough to capture the high-level feature or capability it describes while being concise enough to be easily understood by stakeholders and development teams.
Yes, epic user stories are often broken down into smaller user stories and tasks that can be completed in a single sprint or iteration.
Epic user stories can be written by product owners, business analysts, or anyone else who is responsible for identifying and prioritizing high-level features and capabilities for a product or project.
Epic user stories should be reviewed and updated regularly, ideally as part of the agile development process. They should be revisited and refined as more information becomes available and priorities shift.
