The business analyst at Universal Containers has been asked to train the client on how to
write effective user stories with acceptance criteria. The client provided this sample story.
User Story:
As a customer service agent, I need the ability to close support tickets.
Acceptance Criteria:
When viewing an open support ticket, a "Close Ticket" action is available.
When closing a support ticket, the agent is required to enter a "Close Reason".
After completing the close action, the status of the support ticket is set to "Closed".
What can be done to improve this user story?
A. Update the acceptance criteria to describe the technical solution
B. Update the user story to describe why the functionality is needed
C. Update the perspective of the user story and acceptance criteria
B. Update the user story to describe why the functionality is needed
Explanation:
The user story improvement aligns with best practices in Agile methodologies and
Salesforce guidance for creating effective user stories:
Clarity of Purpose: The story must include the business value or "why" behind the
functionality. In this case, updating the user story to explain why the customer
service agent needs to close support tickets adds context and aligns with
Salesforce's recommendations on creating actionable user stories.
Best Practices for User Stories: According to Salesforce's user story guidelines, a
complete story should follow the "INVEST" principle, particularly focusing on being
"Valuable." The missing "why" in the original story means it lacks a description of
the benefit or goal of the feature.
Training Relevance: Teaching the client to emphasize the purpose in their user
stories will help create stories that guide development toward delivering
meaningful outcomes rather than just implementing technical features.