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The concept of user stories has its roots as one of the main tenets of Extreme

Programming. In simple terms, user stories represent an effective means of

gathering requirements from the customer (roughly akin to use cases). This

book describes user stories and demonstrates how they can be used to properly

plan, manage, and test software development projects. The book highlights

both successful and unsuccessful implementations of the concept, and provides

sets of questions and exercises that drive home its main points. After absorbing

the lessons in this book, readers will be able to introduce user stories in their

organizations as an effective means of determining precisely what is required of

a software application.

Learn to build robust software that more closely meets the customer's needs through applying the concept of user stories.

° A clear explanation of the most agile means of gathering software requirements

° Thoroughly reviewed and eagerly anticipated by the agile software development community

° Allows the reader to save time and resources by gathering the proper requirements BEFORE coding begins

Foreword.


Acknowledgments.


Introduction.

I: GETTING STARTED.

II: ESTIMATING AND PLANNING.

III: FREQUENTLY DISCUSSED TOPICS.

IV: AN EXAMPLE.

V: APPENDICES.

Software Engineering -- Advanced  [PTG: AW PROFESSIONAL]   (Computer Science)
Extreme Programming  [PTG: AW PROFESSIONAL]   (Computer Science)

Mike Cohn is the founder of Mountain Goat Software, a process and project management consultancy and training firm. With more than twenty years of experience, Mike has been a technology executive in companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 40s, and is a founding member of the Agile Alliance. He frequently contributes to industry-related magazines and presents regularly at conferences. He is the author of User Stories Applied (Addison-Wesley, 2004).

Agile requirements: discovering what your users really want. With this book, you will learn to:

• Flexible, quick and practical requirements that work

• Save time and develop better software that meets users' needs

• Gathering user stories -- even when you can't talk to users

• How user stories work, and how they differ from use cases, scenarios, and traditional requirements

• Leveraging user stories as part of planning, scheduling, estimating, and testing

• Ideal for Extreme Programming, Scrum, or any other agile methodology

Thoroughly reviewed and eagerly anticipated by the agile community, User Stories Applied offers a requirements process that saves time, eliminates rework, and leads directly to better software.

The best way to build software that meets users' needs is to begin with "user stories": simple, clear, brief descriptions of functionality that will be valuable to real users. In User Stories Applied, Mike Cohn provides you with a front-to-back blueprint for writing these user stories and weaving them into your development lifecycle.

You'll learn what makes a great user story, and what makes a bad one. You'll discover practical ways to gather user stories, even when you can't speak with your users. Then, once you've compiled your user stories, Cohn shows how to organize them, prioritize them, and use them for planning, management, and testing.

• User role modeling: understanding what users have in common, and where they differ

• Gathering stories: user interviewing, questionnaires, observation, and workshops

• Working with managers, trainers, salespeople and other "proxies"

• Writing user stories for acceptance testing

• Using stories to prioritize, set schedules, and estimate release costs

• Includes end-of-chapter practice questions and exercises

User Stories Applied will be invaluable to every software developer, tester, analyst, and manager working with any agile method: XP, Scrum... or even your own home-grown approach.

ADDISON-WESLEY PROFESSIONAL

Boston, MA 02116

www.awprofessional.com

ISBN: 0-321-20568-5

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students contact your Pearson Higher Education representative.