Improving Clarity and Completeness in User Stories: Insights from a Multi-Domain Analysis with Developer Feedback

Maria Regina Araújo Souza, Tayana Conte

2025

Abstract

The clarity and completeness of requirements are crucial in agile software development, where user stories are widely used to capture user needs. However, poorly written user stories can introduce ambiguities, leading to inefficiencies in the development process. This paper presents a detailed analysis of 30 user stories from five different domains, along with feedback from 50 developers gathered through a questionnaire. The analysis, based on the INVEST criteria (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable), identified common issues such as vague acceptance criteria, insufficient technical details, and overly broad stories. Based on these findings, we present targeted recommendations for improving user story quality, including refining acceptance criteria, breaking down large stories into smaller components, and incorporating adequate technical details. The feedback from developers reinforced the value of these practices, highlighting the importance of collaboration in refining user stories. This study offers actionable insights and practical strategies to enhance user story quality and promote continuous improvement in agile software development.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Souza M. and Conte T. (2025). Improving Clarity and Completeness in User Stories: Insights from a Multi-Domain Analysis with Developer Feedback. In Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 2: ICEIS; ISBN 978-989-758-749-8, SciTePress, pages 272-279. DOI: 10.5220/0013363500003929

in Bibtex Style

@conference{iceis25,
author={Maria Souza and Tayana Conte},
title={Improving Clarity and Completeness in User Stories: Insights from a Multi-Domain Analysis with Developer Feedback},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 2: ICEIS},
year={2025},
pages={272-279},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013363500003929},
isbn={978-989-758-749-8},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 2: ICEIS
TI - Improving Clarity and Completeness in User Stories: Insights from a Multi-Domain Analysis with Developer Feedback
SN - 978-989-758-749-8
AU - Souza M.
AU - Conte T.
PY - 2025
SP - 272
EP - 279
DO - 10.5220/0013363500003929
PB - SciTePress