Use cases describe detailed system interactions step-by-step, including alternate paths and exceptions, ideal for complex systems and detailed feature planning.
User stories capture high-level goals from the user’s perspective and promote collaboration in Agile workflows, better for Agile development and quick iterations.
Both use cases and user stories serve different purposes but can work best together for clarity in building products.
Use cases provide a detailed system-user interaction narrative, focusing on what the system does in response to the user's actions.
User stories are short, user-focused statements describing features from the user's perspective, driving conversation and guiding development in Agile.
Use cases were popularized by Ivar Jacobson in the 1980s to address the need for clearer system behavior descriptions.
User stories were popularized by Kent Beck and Ron Jeffries in the early 2000s under Extreme Programming methodology, emphasizing collaboration and simplicity.
User stories prioritize user value, fit well in Agile workflows, encourage collaboration, and focus on delivering features that matter to users.
User stories are generally considered more suitable for Agile development due to their lightweight nature, quick capture of user needs, and emphasis on user value.
Both user stories and use cases can be integrated with other techniques like story maps to provide a comprehensive understanding of product requirements and user needs.