User Story: A short description of a feature from the user’s point of view, often written as "As a [user], I want [something] so that [reason]".
Example
"As a student, I want to reset my password so that I can log in if I forget it."
Why User Story matters for IT interns
Many tasks you receive will be user stories. The "so that" part tells you why the feature matters.
Where you will hear it
You will hear this term in team routines such as stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives. If someone uses it and you are not sure what they mean in your project, it is completely fine to ask; every team uses terms a little differently.
Related terms
- Sprint: A short, fixed period — usually one to four weeks — in which the team aims to finish a planned set of work.
- Sprint Backlog: The items the team has committed to in the current sprint, plus the plan for completing them.
- Sprint Planning: A meeting at the start of a sprint where the team decides which work to take on and roughly how to do it.
- Sprint Review: A meeting at the end of a sprint where the team shows the finished work to stakeholders and collects feedback.
- Story Points: A relative number teams use to estimate how much effort or complexity a story involves.
- Task: A small, specific piece of work, often part of a user story.
Previous term: User Acceptance Testing (UAT) | Next term: Version Control
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is User Story?
A short description of a feature from the user’s point of view, often written as "As a [user], I want [something] so that [reason]".
What is an example of User Story?
"As a student, I want to reset my password so that I can log in if I forget it."
Why does User Story matter for IT interns?
Many tasks you receive will be user stories. The "so that" part tells you why the feature matters.
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About the author
Dhaivat has 16+ years of experience in the IT industry, working on AI and cloud technologies, project delivery, and engineering leadership. He has interviewed and mentored many interns, wrote The Lost Intern, and runs the non-commercial Career Impact Initiative, mentoring students for free.