User Story

A short, informal narrative that explains the purpose of a feature, usually written from the role of an audience member or persona. This might read as "As a [role], I want to [do something], so that [I get some benefit]."

The user story format forces you to name who wants something and why, not just what gets built. "Add a saved-search feature" tells a developer what to build. "As a returning shopper, I want to save my search so I don't have to rebuild it every visit" tells them why it matters and how to know it's done. Stories keep features tied to real people instead of an unexplained wish list, and are crucial in confirming functionality during QA.