User stories as boundary objects in agile requirements engineering: A theoretical literature review
Loading...
Files
Published Version
Date
2025
Authors
Sporsem, Tor Thorsrud
Dingsøyr, Torgeir
Stol, Klaas Jan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Inc.
Published Version
Abstract
User stories have become the predominant method for managing requirements in software development, used by approximately half of all software developers. Despite this widespread adoption, there is limited theoretical understanding of how user stories are used in practice. Through a theoretical literature review of 14 industry studies, we develop five theoretical propositions: 1) user stories facilitate shared understanding between developers and users; 2) small user stories help developers cope with change; 3) clarifying the ‘why’ in user stories reinforces focus on user needs but adds complexity to the development process; 4) conversations triggered by user stories can hamper the sense of productivity; and 5) user stories as recorded in writing degrade over time. Using boundary object theory as an analytical lens, we explain how user stories facilitate knowledge transfer across syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic boundaries between developers and users. This theoretical lens offers new insights into why some user stories succeed while others fail to bridge boundaries between users and developers. The review highlights the sharp contrast between the widespread use of user stories among practitioners and the limited academic research on their practical application. We end with identifying opportunities for future research, particularly on how user stories can be used in the era of generative AI.
Description
Keywords
Agile requirements engineering , Boundary objects theory , Knowledge boundaries , Software development, , Theoretical literature review , User stories
Citation
Sporsem, T., Dingsøyr, T. and Stol, K. J. (2025) 'User stories as boundary objects in agile requirements engineering: A theoretical literature review', Journal of Systems and Software, 233, 112693 (21pp). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2025.112693