AI prompt for writing user stories

Written for Claude. Compiled as a writing task — producing original prose: articles, essays, stories, letters, and long-form copy.

<role>
You are a senior writer and editor with a decade of experience in this exact form.
</role>

<context>
Who uses it: {{users}}. The problem it solves: {{problem}}. Known constraints: {{constraints}}.
</context>

<task>
Write user stories for {{feature}}.
</task>

<constraints>
- Each story states a user, a goal and a reason. The reason must not restate the goal.
- Acceptance criteria must be testable — a tester could mark each pass or fail.
- Include the edge cases and error states, not just the happy path.
- Split anything that needs "and" in the goal.
- Write in plain, direct prose. Do not restate the prompt, and do not open with a throat-clearing sentence.
- Vary sentence length. Do not begin consecutive sentences with the same word or structure.
- Do not invent facts, statistics, quotations, or attributed opinions.
</constraints>

<output_format>
Respond in Markdown. Use descriptive headings, and keep paragraphs to three sentences or fewer.
</output_format>

<success_criteria>
Before you finish, check the output against every item below and fix anything that fails.

- A developer could build from these without asking what happens when it fails.
</success_criteria>

<before_you_start>
If anything above is unclear, or you are missing information you need, ask up to three specific clarifying questions before producing any output. Do not invent facts, names, numbers, sources, or quotations to fill a gap — if you do not know something, say so plainly.
</before_you_start>

Now, write user stories for {{feature}}.

Open this in the prompt builder to add your own context and see what would improve it most.

What makes writing user stories hard to prompt for

User stories fail when the "so that" clause restates the goal — "so that I can log in" adds nothing — and when only the happy path is specified, leaving every error state to be discovered in QA.

Why this prompt works

Background comes before the instruction

The model reads the situation before it learns what to do with it, which stops the instruction being diluted by everything that follows. The task is then restated as the final line, where models weight it most heavily.

Rules a writing task assumes but nobody writes down

Write in plain, direct prose. Do not restate the prompt, and do not open with a throat-clearing sentence. Vary sentence length. Do not begin consecutive sentences with the same word or structure. These are added automatically because leaving them implicit is the most common reason this kind of output disappoints.

Success criteria the model checks itself against

Stating how the output will be judged gives the model something concrete to verify before it finishes. Prompts without criteria produce work that is plausible but incomplete, because nothing defined when it was done.

Permission to ask instead of guess

This brief leaves room for interpretation, so the prompt tells the model to ask before inventing details. That converts a confidently wrong answer into a question you can actually answer.

What to replace

Check the output before you use it

• Read each "so that" clause alone. If it just restates the goal, the reason is missing.
• Check every story has at least one failure-case criterion.
• Look for stories containing "and" in the goal — those are two stories.

The same prompt for other models

Identical content, packaged the way each model reads most reliably.

## Role

You are a senior writer and editor with a decade of experience in this exact form.

## Context

Who uses it: {{users}}. The problem it solves: {{problem}}. Known constraints: {{constraints}}.

## Task

Write user stories for {{feature}}.

## Constraints

- Each story states a user, a goal and a reason. The reason must not restate the goal.
- Acceptance criteria must be testable — a tester could mark each pass or fail.
- Include the edge cases and error states, not just the happy path.
- Split anything that needs "and" in the goal.
- Write in plain, direct prose. Do not restate the prompt, and do not open with a throat-clearing sentence.
- Vary sentence length. Do not begin consecutive sentences with the same word or structure.
- Do not invent facts, statistics, quotations, or attributed opinions.

## Output format

Respond in Markdown. Use descriptive headings, and keep paragraphs to three sentences or fewer.

## Success criteria

Before you finish, check the output against every item below and fix anything that fails.

- A developer could build from these without asking what happens when it fails.

## Before you start

If anything above is unclear, or you are missing information you need, ask up to three specific clarifying questions before producing any output. Do not invent facts, names, numbers, sources, or quotations to fill a gap — if you do not know something, say so plainly.

Now, write user stories for {{feature}}.

**Task**

Write user stories for {{feature}}.

**Role**

You are a senior writer and editor with a decade of experience in this exact form.

**Context**

Who uses it: {{users}}. The problem it solves: {{problem}}. Known constraints: {{constraints}}.

**Constraints**

- Each story states a user, a goal and a reason. The reason must not restate the goal.
- Acceptance criteria must be testable — a tester could mark each pass or fail.
- Include the edge cases and error states, not just the happy path.
- Split anything that needs "and" in the goal.
- Write in plain, direct prose. Do not restate the prompt, and do not open with a throat-clearing sentence.
- Vary sentence length. Do not begin consecutive sentences with the same word or structure.
- Do not invent facts, statistics, quotations, or attributed opinions.

**Output format**

Respond in Markdown. Use descriptive headings, and keep paragraphs to three sentences or fewer.

**Success criteria**

Before you finish, check the output against every item below and fix anything that fails.

- A developer could build from these without asking what happens when it fails.

**Before you start**

If anything above is unclear, or you are missing information you need, ask up to three specific clarifying questions before producing any output. Do not invent facts, names, numbers, sources, or quotations to fill a gap — if you do not know something, say so plainly.

Now, write user stories for {{feature}}.