TFS, Scrum template and Product Backlog Item

Question

I am trying to add stories to my product backlog. Am I right in saying that, within the PBI in TFS(2012), for a story that sounds like:

As a user, I want to login to the system so that I have access to the features my login allows.

Is that a valid story? And then, within TFS, there's a 'Name' and a 'Description'. Wouldn't the description be what I wrote above, and the name be 'Login'? I'm battling to work out what best practice would be for entering my product backlog items.

Answer 1

When I have used TFS, I have tried to keep the "Title" (or "Name") to be a shortened value that can be easily searched and sorted. That value is used when displayed in queries and on the board, so I find it handy to have a different format than the standard user story description.

I would then recommend the user story text you have be in the description. Something like this:

Title: Authentication: Login

Description: As a user, I want to login to the system so that I have access to the features my login allows.

In earlier versions of TFS, I wasn't able to tag stories (which is now possible) so we used a Theme in the title of our stories to quickly identify in the Title what investment theme the story belong to (in my example, Authentication).

You may want to consider that the story may get broken down into multiple stories, and your Title should be able to be used to represent that. For example, you may have a story about an SSO requirement, a Logout requirement, a loading of personal details upon login, a "Remember Me" story, etc. Using your Title in such a way as to allow for the grouping of all these stories will help you down the road.

Answer 2

My version of the Scrum Process Template doesn't have a name field, I'm not sure where that is coming from (it might be a customization in your TFS instance).

Your story seems like a proper Title.

The Description would probably expand on the title adding because, why, value proposition. May possibly elaborate a bit more or give context to the story.

Be careful that the story you add has proper value. I as a user don't want to login to a system, I want it to recognize me in the easiest and secure way possible. I want it to ensure I am the only person who can see my personal data. A logon screen is an implemetation of these desires, but it's usually just one of them and possibly not the best one to match my demands as a user.