Aligning To a Vision
It's important for the team to first understand the high-level vision and to make sure the features, and ultimately the user stories, align to that high-level vision.
Typically, you break the product down into groupings that go by names such as "themes" or "features." Though the labeling of these backlog items can differ depending on the agile method and tools you use to describe them, the idea is to make sure they align so that the work can be traced up to your vision, which will ensure that you're meeting the goals and values of the product vision.
Again, don't start a project by creating user stories; start by creating a vision. The following example shows a sample vision statement, which leads to some sample features, which can be further decomposed into user stories.
Vision
Provide a high-quality website that will allow trainers to advertise courses and allow students to take those courses.
Features
- Provide a course offering page that will allow students to sign up for courses.
- Provide a home page that will tell users what our site is all about.
- Provide a registration process allowing users to log in, create a profile, and keep track of their classes.
- Provide a blog that will help advertise our offerings and gain publicity for our website.
User stories
- Provide trainers with the ability to add a course on the course offering page.
- Provide students with the ability to search for a course.
In the example above, you can see how the user stories originated. The user stories were part of a feature to "provide a course offering page" that aligns with the high-level vision.