How to Write a User Story in Jira (With Acceptance Criteria)
Write a user story in Jira the way business analysts do: the As a, I want, so that sentence, Given When Then acceptance criteria, and a parent epic. Shown step by step on a real Jira site.
Step by step
The story
- User story in Jira. A good user story says who wants something, what they want and why. Here is one written in Jira, with acceptance criteria that testers can check.
- Create. This is the backlog of an online shop. Every new story starts with the Create button at the top.
- Pick Story. First, choose the work type. Click the type at the top of the Create window. Pick Story, the one with the green bookmark icon.
Write it
- Short title. The summary is the short title the whole team sees on the board. Keep it to a few words and start with a verb: Save items to a wish list.
- As a, I want, so that. In the description, write the story itself: As a returning shopper, I want to save items to a wish list, so that I can buy them later.
- Acceptance criteria. Below it, add the acceptance criteria using Given, When, Then: the starting point, what the user does, and what they should see. Given I am signed in, when I press Save on a product, then it shows in my wish list. Add one line for each rule. This one covers a shopper who is not signed in: Given I am not signed in, when I press Save, then I am asked to sign in first.
Link and create
- Parent epic. Every story belongs to an epic, which is a bigger piece of work. Click the Parent field. A wish list is part of customer accounts, so pick the Customer accounts epic.
- Create. Check every field once more, then click Create.
- In the backlog. The new story appears at the bottom of the backlog. Click it to open it.
- Ready for the team. The story, the acceptance criteria and the parent epic are all in one place, ready for the team to size and plan.
Recap
- Who, what, why. To recap: a short summary that starts with a verb, As a, I want, so that in the description, a Given, When, Then line for every rule, and a parent epic.
Common mistakes
- Putting the whole story in the summary. The summary shows on the board, so keep it to a few words, like Save items to a wish list. Put the As a, I want, so that sentence in the description.
- Leaving out the so that part. Without the reason, the team can build the feature but miss the point. Always say why, like so that I can buy them later.
- Acceptance criteria that can't be tested. Lines like "wish list works well" give testers nothing to check. Write each rule as Given, When, Then with a clear result, such as then it shows in my wish list.
- Covering only the happy path. Add a line for each rule, including what happens when things differ, like a shopper who is not signed in being asked to sign in first.
When a business analyst uses this
After a requirements workshop, a business analyst turns each agreed need into a Jira story under its epic. The Given, When, Then lines then become the test cases the business checks at user acceptance testing before sign-off.
Questions people ask
What is a user story in Jira?
It's a work item of the type Story that describes a need from the user's point of view: who wants it, what they want and why. It usually holds acceptance criteria and sits under a parent epic.
How do you write a good user story in Jira?
Give it a short summary that starts with a verb, write As a…, I want…, so that… in the description, and add one Given, When, Then line for each rule. Then link it to a parent epic.
How do epics and user stories work together in Jira?
An epic is a bigger piece of work, like customer accounts. Each story is a smaller part of it, and you link the two by choosing the epic in the story's Parent field.
