When Should Use Which? User Story / Use Case / Feature / Backlog Item

We always come across these terms in software development. Sometimes people a piece of software feature — requirement/ use case, backlog items ….

What is the convention of the software people for using that or which?

Different Method / Different Term

The different methods or processes use different terminology to refer to features. Ultimately, the goal is the same — to deliver business value regularly in small increments, and sooner rather than later.

  • Agile / Scrum calls a feature a Backlog Item, which tends to be larger grained and can also include non-feature items such as ‘set up production hardware’, or ‘research xyz options’.
  • XP calls a feature a User Story, which lends itself to a particularly helpful approach to defining functionality.
  • DSDM calls a feature a Requirement, which can also include more than just system features.
  • Agile UP / UML practitioners use Requirements and Use Cases to define features.

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