User Story Vs Use Case For Agile Development

By Ashutosh Jha → Last Updated on Wednesday, April 1, 2020
There are certain similarities between User Stories and Use Cases, but their goals are different. Both may identify users and describe goals. The former are focused on the results and the advantages of the thing being described. The latter are more detailed. They describe the working of the system. Both have their places in Agile development.

Thus, there are both similarities and differences between the two. It is recommended to read more to gain better insights.

User Stories

User Stories are notes that describe that the user intends to do to complete the task. A User Story will have a short description from the user’s perspective. It is focused solely on what the user needs and not what the system needs to deliver.

  • This is an informal process that begins with a simple sentence in natural language
  • It can be the starting point from which Use Cases may be derived
  • They are specifically beneficial if you like the agility of adding instant value in small increments
  • High level User Stories can improve productivity of planning sessions
  • They enable adding last-minute functions to projects

Use Cases

Use Cases, on the other hand, capture the user’s perspective when describing the system’s functional requirements. The description comprises of step by step process for the user to achieve the goal using a program.

  • Use Cases are no longer as popular as User Stories
  • It helps in identifying the actors
  • It enables breaking down the problem into sub-domains
  • Boost notes and advanced research can be beneficial to a project

Differences Between User Story & User Case

Some of the main differences between User Story and Use Cases are as follows:

  • A User Story focuses on needs. When writing User Stories, you will be describing the user needs in all their simplicity. It is related to what the user will be doing as part of their everyday job when using the software. That need will be there, no matter they use a software or not.
  • A Use Case is related to the behavior built into the application to address the needs discussed above. The developer should be able to get an understanding of what the application needs to do. It provides details and a description of what the developer will need to create to meet the user needs. It should be much more detailed than a User Story and have all the clarity.
  • A User Story should be easy for anyone to read and understand, including the user. It is written in the normal language used by the user and your goal is to allow anyone to understand it. As a developer, you may have much more knowledge and patience to elaborate on the details of the application, but your users don’t have that. So a User Story should always be as brief as possible and easy to understand for anyone. It should not take more than two sentences to describe the complete thought.
  • A Use Case describes a complete set of interaction that will take place between the users and the application. Use Case analysis involves design of a functional solution to meet the needs of users. It should comprise of points that can be implemented by the developers.

It is likely that a single User Story can lead to the creation of multiple Use Cases. When all the Use Cases are combined to create a single Use Case, it will be a complete description of all the interactions between the application and the users that need to be developed.

When an application needs to interact with more than one system, the other systems may be treated as actives in the User Case.

Thus, there are a few similarities between User Story and Use Cases, but they are different in many ways.

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Ashutosh Jha

Ashutosh Jha is a professional blogger, Blog and IT Consultant. He writes about Blogging, SEO, Making Money, Internet Marketing and Web Design.
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