Jira user story template

Who wants it, what they want and why, then the conditions that make it done. Short enough that people actually fill it in.

Free to copy Standard team style

The template

Change it in the generator

Story

[Who] can [do what]

Priority: Jira’s default
Labels: needs-refinement

Description

User story

As a [type of user], I want [goal] so that [reason].

Acceptance criteria

Given [context], when [action], then [result]
Given [context], when [action], then [result]

Context

[Background, links to designs or discussions, and anything already decided.]

Out of scope

[What this story does not include]

Definition of done

Acceptance criteria met
Code reviewed
Tests added or updated
Documentation updated, if behaviour changed

Show it as Markdown

### User story

As a [type of user], I want [goal] so that [reason].

### Acceptance criteria

- Given [context], when [action], then [result]
- Given [context], when [action], then [result]

### Context

[Background, links to designs or discussions, and anything already decided.]

### Out of scope

- [What this story does not include]

### Definition of done

- [ ] Acceptance criteria met
- [ ] Code reviewed
- [ ] Tests added or updated
- [ ] Documentation updated, if behaviour changed

When to use it

Use it for a change that someone outside the team would notice, small enough to finish in one sprint.

Work nobody outside the team would notice, such as an upgrade or a clean-up, fits the task template better. Something too big for one sprint is an epic, split into stories.

What each section is for

User story: The reason after "so that" is the part that most often goes missing, and the part that settles trade-offs later.
Acceptance criteria: Each one should be something a tester can check without asking the person who wrote the story.
Context: Links rather than copies, so the story does not go out of date.
Out of scope: Saying what is not included keeps the story small, and avoids a surprise at review.
Dependencies Detailed: Shows a blocked story before the sprint starts, not halfway through it.
How to test Detailed: Saves the tester from asking for data or access.

Want this to appear automatically in Jira’s Create dialog?

Issue Templates & Create Defaults for Jira fills in the summary, description, checklist, labels and priority from a template when someone opens Jira’s own Create dialog with one of the issue types you choose. Each field it fills carries a note saying where the text came from, and once someone writes their own summary or description, the app leaves the form alone.

To take a template from this page into the app with its formatting, paste it into an issue’s description, then, as a project or Jira administrator, choose Save as template from the issue’s ••• menu.

Submitted to the Atlassian Marketplace and awaiting approval.

About the app Documentation

Other templates

Or build your own in the Jira issue template generator, and see what Jira Cloud does on its own.