| name | write-user-story |
| description | Generate user stories for a new feature. Use when planning a feature, starting a new project, or when asked to write user stories. Triggers on: write user story, user stories for, plan this feature, spec out, break down feature. |
| user-invocable | true |
User Story Writer
Create detailed, actionable user stories suitable for implementation by a developer or AI agent.
The Job
- Receive a feature description from the user
- Ask clarifying questions if the description is ambiguous (with lettered options)
- Generate structured user stories based on answers
- Save to
user-stories/[feature-name].md
- Ask if any stories need splitting, merging, reprioritizing, or if new stories are needed
Important: Do NOT start implementing. Just create the user stories.
Important Restrictions
- NEVER include implementation details or technical solutions
- NEVER suggest code examples or programming approaches
- NEVER write test cases or mention testing frameworks
- NEVER provide technical architecture or design guidance
- Focus on user needs, business value, and acceptance criteria
- When the domain is inherently technical (APIs, infrastructure, developer tools), use precise domain terminology in acceptance criteria — this is not the same as prescribing implementation
- If asked about implementation, redirect to user story refinement
Step 1: Clarifying Questions
Ask only critical questions where the initial prompt is ambiguous. If the user's description is sufficiently detailed, reduce to 1-2 targeted questions or proceed directly and note assumptions in the Open Questions section.
Tailor every question to the specific feature described. Never ask generic questions like "What is the scope?" — instead ask something derived from the feature, like "Should the rate limiter apply per-endpoint or per-tenant?"
Focus on:
- Problem/Goal: What problem does this solve?
- Core Functionality: What are the key actions?
- Scope/Boundaries: What should it NOT do?
- Success Criteria: How do we know it's done?
- User Personas: Who are the different types of users?
Format Questions Like This:
Given a feature request like "Add rate limiting to our API":
1. Which consumers should rate limiting apply to?
A. External/public API consumers only
B. All consumers including internal services
C. Specific tenant tiers (e.g., free vs. paid)
D. Other: [please specify]
2. What should happen when a consumer exceeds their limit?
A. Reject with an error and retry guidance
B. Queue excess requests and process them later
C. Throttle (slow down) rather than reject
D. Other: [please specify]
3. Should limits be the same for everyone or configurable?
A. Single global limit for all consumers
B. Configurable per tenant/consumer
C. Tiered limits based on plan level
D. Other: [please specify]
This lets users respond with "1A, 2A, 3B" for quick iteration. Remember to indent the options.
Step 2: Decompose into User Stories
Apply the Elephant Carpaccio technique: break the problem into the thinnest possible vertical slices that still deliver end-to-end value. Each slice should be a complete, working feature that a user can interact with.
Every user story must follow the INVEST criteria:
- Independent: Can be developed without dependencies on other stories
- Negotiable: Details can be discussed and refined
- Valuable: Delivers clear value to the end user
- Estimable: Clear enough scope to understand complexity
- Small: Can be completed in a single focused session
- Testable: Has clear acceptance criteria
Story Sizing
A well-sized story should have 3-7 acceptance criteria. If you have more than 7, the story likely needs splitting. If fewer than 2, it may be too granular to stand alone.
Prioritize and Sequence Stories By:
- Risk reduction (tackle unknowns early)
- User value delivery
- Dependencies between stories
- Learning opportunities
List stories in recommended implementation order. When a story depends on another, note the dependency explicitly.
Step 3: Document Structure
Generate the document with these sections:
1. Overview
Brief description of the feature and the problem it solves.
2. Goals
Specific, measurable objectives (bullet list).
3. User Stories
Each story needs:
- Title: Short descriptive name
- Description: "As a [user], I want [feature] so that [benefit]"
- Acceptance Criteria: Verifiable checklist of what "done" means — how we verify this story works
- Context (optional): Background information helpful for the implementer — domain knowledge, related behavior elsewhere in the system, or why this story exists. Do not prescribe solutions.
- Depends on (optional): References to stories that must be completed first
Format:
### US-001: [Title]
**Description:** As a [user], I want [feature] so that [benefit].
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Specific verifiable criterion
- [ ] Another criterion
**Context:** [Optional background for the implementer]
**Depends on:** [Optional, e.g., US-001]
Important:
- Acceptance criteria must be verifiable, not vague. "Works correctly" is bad. "Consumer receives a 429 response with retry timing when their request rate exceeds the configured limit" is good.
- Acceptance criteria describe observable behavior — what the user sees, what the system responds with, what state changes. They are not implementation instructions.
4. Non-Goals (Out of Scope)
What this feature will NOT include. Critical for managing scope.
5. Open Questions
Remaining questions, areas needing clarification, and any assumptions made if clarifying questions were skipped.
Quality Standards
- Each story should be small enough for a single focused session (3-7 acceptance criteria)
- Stories should build incrementally toward the full solution
- Avoid technical tasks disguised as user stories — every story should deliver value a user or operator can observe
- Cross-cutting constraints (backward compatibility, performance, security) are not stories. They are properties every story must satisfy. Evaluate each story against these constraints instead of making them standalone items.
- Validation, error handling, and correctness are implementation mechanisms, not user-facing features. Express them as acceptance criteria within the relevant feature story (e.g. "Invalid input produces a clear error message" under an authoring story), not as separate stories.
- Include edge cases and error scenarios as separate stories when significant
- Consider different user personas and their unique needs
- The complete set of stories must address the original problem without gaps or overlaps
Writing for Implementers
The reader may be a junior developer or AI agent. Therefore:
- Be explicit and unambiguous in descriptions and acceptance criteria
- Avoid jargon or explain it
- Use concrete examples where helpful
- Use the optional Context field to provide domain background that helps the implementer understand why without prescribing how
Output
- Format: Markdown (
.md)
- Location:
user-stories/
- Filename:
[feature-name].md (kebab-case)
Iteration
After generating the initial set of stories, ask the user:
- Do any stories need splitting or merging?
- Should any stories be reprioritized?
- Are there missing stories or edge cases to add?
Update the file in place based on feedback.
Example
# API Rate Limiting
## Overview
Add rate limiting to the public API to prevent abuse and ensure fair usage across tenants. Requests exceeding the configured threshold are rejected with a standard error response, and usage is tracked for observability.
## Goals
- Protect the API from excessive traffic by a single tenant
- Return clear, standards-compliant responses when limits are hit
- Make rate limits configurable per tenant without redeployment
- Provide visibility into rate limit events via monitoring
## User Stories
### US-001: Enforce per-tenant request limits
**Description:** As an API operator, I want incoming requests counted against a per-tenant limit so that no single tenant can monopolize capacity.
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Each tenant's requests are tracked against a per-minute limit
- [ ] Default limit is 100 requests per minute
- [ ] Requests within the limit proceed with no noticeable delay
### US-002: Reject over-limit requests with clear feedback
**Description:** As an API consumer, I want a clear error response when I exceed my rate limit so that I know to back off and when to retry.
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Over-limit requests receive a 429 status code
- [ ] Response body includes a human-readable error message
- [ ] Response includes how many seconds until the consumer can retry
- [ ] No information about other tenants' limits or usage is leaked
**Depends on:** US-001
### US-003: Allow per-tenant limit overrides
**Description:** As an API operator, I want to set custom rate limits for specific tenants so that premium tenants get higher throughput without affecting others.
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Operators can set a custom limit for any tenant
- [ ] Custom limits take effect without restarting the service
- [ ] Tenants without a custom limit use the default
- [ ] Operators can remove a custom limit to revert to the default
**Context:** Premium tenants are identified by their API key tier. The current tenant configuration already supports per-tenant settings for other features.
**Depends on:** US-001
### US-004: Monitor rate limit events
**Description:** As an API operator, I want to see when tenants hit their rate limits so that I can identify abuse patterns and adjust limits proactively.
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Each 429 response is recorded as a rate limit event with the tenant identifier
- [ ] Operators can view rate limit events per tenant over time
- [ ] Operators can set up alerts when a tenant exceeds a threshold of 429s
**Depends on:** US-002
### US-005: Handle burst traffic gracefully
**Description:** As an API consumer, I want short bursts above my limit to be tolerated so that legitimate traffic spikes don't immediately trigger errors.
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] A small burst allowance above the per-minute limit is permitted
- [ ] Sustained traffic above the limit is still rejected
- [ ] Burst allowance is documented so consumers know what to expect
**Context:** Many API consumers send requests in batches rather than at a steady rate. Without burst tolerance, legitimate batch operations would be rejected even if average usage is well within limits.
**Depends on:** US-001
## Non-Goals
- No user-facing dashboard for consumers to view their own usage
- No automatic banning or escalation on repeated violations
- No per-endpoint rate limits (tenant-level only for now)
## Open Questions
- Should rate limit usage headers be included on every response, not just 429s?
- What is the right burst allowance — a fixed number of extra requests or a percentage of the limit?
Checklist
Before saving:
