Who Writes User Stories? - by Benedikt Kantus

One of the many responsibilities of product owners, as outlined in the Scrum Guide, is to "create and clearly communicate Product Backlog items." Traditionally, this has meant that only the Product Owner writes user stories. But is this a hard and fast rule?

As the team progresses, a more rigid structure emerges. Only the Product Owner drafts user stories, with team members pointing out missing elements.

As the team matures, it adopts a collaborative approach. If there's a shared understanding after a discussion, anyone in the team can contribute to crafting user stories.

In a mature Stage 3 team, it's not uncommon for user stories to appear in a sprint that the Product Owner hasn't seen before. This is a positive development, indicating that team members take ownership of the product. Tasks may emerge during the sprint, reflecting the team's ability to adapt to new information or split stories themselves, e.g. when experiments have been run during a sprint.

This shift in responsibility is beneficial. It allows the Product Owner to concentrate on strategy, experimentation and discovery, contributing to the overall success of the product. It shows that the while team cares about the product and understand the product goal.

Leave a Comment