Preparations

In preparation for class, read SaaS 7.1-7.5 and 7.10-7.12 (ignore references to Cucumber/Capybara) and watch TED talk by Celeste Headlee which has some ideas that run counter to what you may have been taught regarding active listening.

Note: we will not be using the Cucumber tool, which Fox and Patterson discuss in their examples. While learning how to interview and write user stories, we are going to stick with low-tech tools.

In class, you will practice developing user stories by roleplaying a client and developer with a classmate. This exercise works better if you’ve already thought about an interesting example that you would be a client for, so also:

1. Think of a piece of software that you would like to create or enhance. Your individual class project would be an excellent starting point!!
2. Think of two or three features that you would like to add or change and be prepared to describe them to your developer
3. Think about what role you would be playing in relationship to the software you imagine.  Are you an administrator of a non-profit that needs to recruit volunteers? Are you a business person trying to sell a product online?  Who are you? Why do you want this software developed or enhanced?

Optional additional reading: User Stories: An Agile Introduction