Effectively manage user stories in the backlog

As a project manager or team member, you often find yourself in the jungle of tasks and user stories. Managing these processes in Jira can be crucial for the success of your project. In this tutorial, you will get a comprehensive overview of how you can effectively create, manage, and integrate user stories in the backlog.

Key Takeaways

• User stories are central elements in the Scrum process and serve structured planning.
• You can create, adjust, and move user stories directly in the backlog.
• Sorting user stories helps you keep an overview and set priorities.

Step-by-Step Guide

Creating User Stories in the Backlog

To create a new user story, first navigate to the backlog. You can click on "Create Issue" in the top right corner. In the window that appears, enter the name of the user story, for example, "Test." To save this process, simply press the Enter key. You have now created the user story in your backlog.

Moving User Stories to a Sprint

Once you have created your user story, you can decide whether you want to move it directly to a sprint. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the user story up to the sprint area. These tasks will then be automatically displayed on your board when the sprint is activated. This means you can start working on them directly.

Managing and Sorting User Stories

A good practice is to arrange user stories in a logical order. Drag and drop the user stories to the desired position in the backlog so that the more important user story is always at the top. This not only makes it easier to keep track but also ensures that you focus on the tasks that have just been prioritized.

Adjusting the Status of User Stories

Next to each user story, you will find options to change the status of the tasks. For example, you can mark a user story as "In Progress." It will then be included in the corresponding "In Progress" category on the sprint board. This approach saves you time and simplifies the process.

Assigning People to User Stories

To clearly define responsibilities, you can assign user stories directly to a person. Click on the corresponding field next to the user story and select the appropriate user. This promotes accountability within the team and ensures that everyone knows who is working on which story.

Creating Relationships Between User Stories and Other Issues

Take advantage of the ability to link issues. You can assign user stories to parent issues (Epics) or child issues (Tasks). This gives you a clear overview of the structure of your tasks and enables better tracking.

Adding Subtasks to User Stories

If a user story requires multiple sub-steps, you can create subtasks. To do this, click on the user story and select the option to add subtasks. Then specify the individual tasks required for completing the user story. This way, you can keep track of all necessary steps.

Managing Documentation and Attachments

Jira allows you to add attachments or links to relevant websites directly to a user story. Use this feature to provide additional information, designs, or other resources that support working on the user story.

Project Settings and Description

You can provide each user story with a predefined description that you have set in the project settings. Such descriptions are useful to outline the basic requirements and goals of the user story. Make sure that this description is meaningful to avoid confusion.

Adapting User Stories to the Sprint

Once you have created the best working conditions, it's time to actually implement the user stories into a sprint. You can now add or remove multiple user stories from your sprint by simply moving the drag line in the backlog, adjusting the priorities accordingly.

Summary

In this tutorial, you've learned how to efficiently manage user stories in Jira's backlog and prepare them for your sprints. From creation to assignment and subtask management – you've gone through all the steps to effectively organize your user stories.