Glossary of Atlassian Terms
What is 'User story'?
Definition
A user story is a small, user-centered piece of work that fits comfortably inside a sprint. It’s the kind of item you can deliver, review, and learn from quickly. Atlassian’s agile guidance places stories below epics: stories are the actionable building blocks, while epics group related stories under a larger goal. Well-written stories keep teams focused on outcomes (“what the user needs”) rather than just output.
