User Story Template for API Products
API products serve developers as users. User stories must specify request/response contracts, error handling, rate limiting, and SDK compatibility.
This template adapts the standard user story format for API-first products where the interface is an endpoint, not a screen.
Template sections
4 sections covering the complete user story workflow.
Developer Persona
Replace the traditional user persona with a developer persona: language/framework, integration context, and experience level with your API.
API Contract
Acceptance criteria must include: HTTP method, path, request/response schemas, status codes, and rate limit behavior.
Error Handling
Specify error responses as first-class requirements: error codes for each failure case, response body format, and retriability.
Breaking Change Assessment
Every API story should assess: does this break existing integrations? If yes, what is the migration path and deprecation timeline?
Copy-paste template
## User Story (API Product) As a [developer using Python/Node/Go], I want to [API action], so that [integration outcome]. ### API Contract - Method: [POST/GET/PUT/DELETE] - Path: /api/v1/[resource] - Response (200): [Schema] - Response (400): [Error schema] ### Breaking Change: [Yes/No]
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