User Story Writing (USW)

When: 11am – 1:30pm; Friday, Aug 5, 2022
Where: Eastern Time (EST/EDT); Online

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About this Workshop

Practical, hands-on, actionable guidance. Writing User Stories is among the most ground-breaking innovations of XP and Agile practitioners. Command of this concept is table-stakes for working with modern teams.

Photo of Note Card by Kelly Sikkema found at Unsplash

The trouble is…despite being well-known it is often not well done.

The ways a team describes the work to be done shapes how the team will focus their effort. Well-written requirements can set a team upon a path of incremental and continuous delivery. While conventional methods of writing requirements often shackles a team with dependencies and unending bureacracy.

Through non-stop guided practice, a series of challenges illustrate the importance and benefits of well-written stories. Whether your team speaks of Product Backlogs, Ready Queues, Story Maps, Project Plans, or Release Strategies, you will leave this workshop with techniques you can immediately share and apply with your team.

Course Topics

A brief history of the User Story
The ‘common’ format
What is a well-written story?
‘Story’ versus ‘Task’

Natural formats
Lifecycle of a Product Backlog Item
Writing, splitting, sizing
Practice, more practice… perfect!

Who Should Attend?

Product Owners, Development Managers, Architects, Designers, Business Analysts, Testers, and Programmers. As stated above, the User Story concept is table-stakes for modern teams in the areas of product development, digital marketing, technology service delivery and more.

This workshop is primarily for people involved with project delivery or product development. And, broadly speaking, the concepts are applicable in the management of complex problems and empirical process control.

What You Need

Quiet Place & Computer

Webcam is required. A good internet connection is important. Consider using headphones unless your room is quiet.

An Open Mind

A willing to experiment is invaluable. Openness to new tools and techniques leads to opportunity.

What You Get

USW Certificate

Track your progress in my personal training series. Read about the series here.

Alumni Discounts

All alumni earn a lifetime of discounts for my future courses.

Unlimited Reruns

The door is always open. Join my future sessions of this course at no charge. Redeem here.

Earn PDUs

Earn credits for Project Management Institute® or other professional memberships.

What People Say

“David is an exceptional trainer. Nobody should think twice if given a chance to take his classes.”
— PSU participant

“David is an exceptional speaker and has an exceptionally high level of knowledge and experience.”
— Director of DevOps & Services, D+H Corporation

“Very professional and knowledgeable instructor. It was an interactive class so never bored. I highly recommend for anyone and any level.”
— Senior Technology Executive

“David is a knowledgeable teacher with a wealth of experience, and he is a caring coach who will help you understand how to use Scrum and grow as a professional.”
— Former Teacher, Transitioning to Scrum Master

“David explains each concept in a manner that not only engages the participant but also encourages and challenges. I sincerely thank him for this wonderful and engaging material.”
— PSU participant

“David is a great presenter. The tools he uses to deliver the content are brilliant. I really enjoyed it and will keep an eye out for future opportunities for my team.”
— Director Product Development, Deighton Associates

“David is a brilliant, positive, uplifting individual who is just a joy to be around. He is one of the most inspiring teachers I’ve had the honour to learn from. Taking a course with David at the helm is a ticket to your future success.”
— Scrum Master, Georgian College

“In over 25 years in business, I have taken dozens of professional development courses and seminars, including 16 courses as part of an executive MBA, and against that backdrop I would rank David among the most effective facilitators I have had.”
— Program Director, BMO

“David is the epitome of what trainers should strive to be. David is a practicing trainer, where he not only provides world-class trainings but lives the Agile mindset in practice...I hold him in a very small number of trainers I have no hesitation recommending to my clients.”
— VP, Contino

“Dave was a great instructor with vast knowledge. The insights provided help clarify some questions or confusion. The interactive tooling used in the class (Mural) was impressive and the scenario based group session really helped to solidify the material.”
— Forensics Security Engineer

“I recommend the PSU course to someone that wants to learn about Scrum, UX practices and even some Product Backlog guidance. Hands on exercises in the class helps bring the concepts together. I enjoyed taking this course and will be applying learnings at my workplace.”
— Senior Manager, Development

“David is one of the few experts that can blend the world of UX & Scrum. He calls upon his rich experience with design teams to share examples of how to improve performance. Exercises are spread out through the course giving the participants ample time to experience the learning.”
— VP Sales

“A dynamic, content-packed, hands-on class with lots of scenarios and case studies. The instructor was open, committed, helpful, punctual, fun, and a true coach (Socratic in many great ways). It was great to hear examples of real life application from his expertise in the area, a great learning experience overall.”
— Customer Value Architect

I have trained thousands of Scrum & Kanban practitioners worldwide.

Saskatchewan Telecommunications - SaskTel

As Professional Kanban Trainer (PKT) with ProKanban.org and Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) with Scrum.org, I work to improve the profession of software delivery. I help organizations deliver products and services of the highest possible quality and value.

My career highlights the intersection of business, technology, and education. With broad experience, I help organizations and teams understand agility at all levels: practice and delivery, leadership and stewardship, organizational design and culture.