Craft Better User Stories with Gherkins for Product Teams

If you're a product manager or work in software development, you've likely come across user stories - those handy little snippets that capture what a user needs to do and why. While user stories can be useful, they often lack empathy and context

That's where gherkins come in handy. Gherkins build on user stories to paint the full picture. They provide the given circumstances, walk through the specific action, and lay out a testable outcome.

Intrigued to learn more about transforming your user stories into impactful gherkins? Read on for a quick intro, then head over to the Userpilot blog for the complete guide.

Why gherkins?

Gherkins add essential context and empathy to user stories. They allow you to capture not just what features to build, but how users will truly interact with them.

For example, a user story might read:

As a user, I want to create a secure password so my account is protected.        

But with a gherkin, we can expand this:

Given I am creating a new account        

When I enter my password        

Then I should be warned about password requirements        

And allowed to make corrections easily        

So that I can create a secure account        

Now we have crucial details on the user's perspective and ideal experience. We understand the context, the action, the expected result, and the user's motivation.

The power of Gherkin templates

Gherkins follow a simple template:

• Given: the starting context
• When: the action taken
• Then: the expected result
• And/But: any additional steps

This format develops thorough scenarios to guide design and development. It also ensures every team member shares the same understanding of how features should function.

Gherkins help you empathize with users by capturing:

• User emotions and pain points
• Ideal workflows and interactions
• Expected outcomes from a user perspective

With gherkins, you move from just output-focused stories to exploring the user's inner world.

Want to master gherkin user stories?

Head to the Userpilot blog for a full walkthrough of:

• Crafting gherkin templates
• Choosing the right level of detail
• Writing for different users and roles
• Aligning stories to development sprints
• Use cases, examples, and tips

And much more! Includes a free gherkin template to get you started.

Overcome user story pitfalls

User stories have a few common downsides that gherkins help resolve:

• Lack of context - Gherkins set the scene with the "Given" clause
• No user perspective - Gherkins focus on user emotions and ideal workflows
• Scope confusion - Gherkins lay out detailed acceptance criteria

Whether you're a product manager, dev team member, or tester, gherkins create alignment. They take you from basic outputs to empathetic outcomes.

Transforming user insights into deliverables

At Userpilot, we help teams gather user insights and rapidly turn them into optimized product experiences. Our in-app guidance and personalization tools allow you to seamlessly guide users to value.

Curious to see our platform in action? Request a demo today.

And stay tuned for more articles on elevating your product development process!

Let us know if you have any other tips for writing great gherkins or user stories!