The Best User Story Software Solutions
Here’s the list of the best user story apps I’ll cover in this article.
According to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, 95% of new products launched each year fail. One of the main reasons for this failure rate is companies launching products without understanding customer wants and needs. This underscores the importance of user story software in product development to create vivid, realistic customer personas.
User stories guide developers on what their products are, who will use them and why end-users would want them. The best user story can help developers come up with products that provide value to customers through features conceptualized from the perspective of customers.
This article will introduce you to user story software that can help you develop products that exceed your customers’ expectations and make product development a breeze.
What is User Story Software?
User story software is a tool that allows teams to brainstorm, visualize, and approve customer personas and the user journey across their product/service. User stories are used to capture user requirements and define the functionality of the software being developed as it relates to how the end user will consume it.
User story software can help you define user demographic predictions/targets, the problems they face, what they want, and how your product is designed to help them.
How I Selected the Best User Story Software
If you're wondering how I selected the best user story software, here's where I'll break it all down for you. First of all, I started with user story software that have high user review and satisfaction ratings. Then, using my experience in product management, I discerned what key criteria were most important for user story software and compared how each of them stacked up against the rest.
I empathize with how much time it takes to source the right software for a job. I do this work so that you don't have to. I've been using and reviewing user story software for years so you can trust me to do the heavy lifting and compile all the facts you need to make your final decision.
If you have more general questions about user story strategy, you can skip to our FAQ at the bottom of the page. Or, you can jump right to the best user story software overviews if you're ready to start comparing.
Selection Criteria
After careful consideration, I've determined that these are the most important criteria when selecting the best user story software. Here's a brief list outlining the whats and whys of my selection.
User Interface (UI):
User story tools should incorporate a visual or data-based answer to the query, “[customer] wants [outcome] in order to [reason].” The tool should make it easy to brainstorm, plot, share, and collaborate on this formula. I want text, shapes, cards, text, and comments to be visible and easily accessible.
Usability:
User stories used to be a matter of notepads and sticky notes, maybe posted on a whiteboard or wall in the office. Let's not overcomplicate things! I look for user story software that provides adequate training resources, is easy to get up-and-running, and has routes for problem solving.
Integrations:
User stories are a small part of a larger product management strategy, including feature prioritization, task management, brainstorming, UI/UX design, and so on. That means the best user story software needs to connect with other tools that handle these components. I love to see compatibility with tools like Jira, Slack, Google Workspace, et cetera.
Pricing:
With any good user story software, pricing should match the features offered. Some software will be free but feature limited and budget-conscious product brands will opt to work within those limitations. But other companies may need a broader feature set and be willing to pay for it. Either way, user story software with free trials, scalable pricing to meet all needs, and fair feature sets are ideal.
Related Read: 10 Best User Feedback Software To Improve Customer Satisfaction [2023]
Overviews Of The 10 Best User Story Solutions
Here’s a brief description of each user story system to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.
Productboard
Best user story software for product feature prioritization
Productboard is a product management platform to help product managers understand their customers’ needs for consideration during product development. It has customizable roadmaps with filtering options letting users identify project goals and achievements easily.
Productboard also allows users to tailor roadmaps to different audiences like end-users and stakeholders making them easier to understand. If you want a user story software to help you determine the features important to end-users, then Productboard’s prioritization feature can help you out.
Productboard allows end-users to assign scores to product features, so developers know which features to concentrate on and which ones they need to develop further. You can also use Productboard to identify key features that end-users find critical to ensure that you include them in future products.
Productboard integrates with other product development and collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Trello, Salesforce, and Zendesk.
Productboard pricing starts at $20/user/month and offers a 15-day free trial.
Avion
Best user story software for complex backlogs
Avion is a user story mapping tool for agile software development that allows you to visualize your product by building detailed user journeys. Users attach files and documents to user stories, ensuring other team members have access to critical documents.
Avion gives your team visibility not just of the user story roadmap but all changes in criteria ensuring that you’re all on the same page throughout the product development process. If you frequently handle sensitive product development projects then Avion is the best user story software for you because of its role-based access control. This feature enables administrators to define the level of access that team members have according to their roles.
With Avion’s access control feature, you can bring in outside talent or freelancers in for specific projects without worrying about them accessing sensitive information not essential to their roles.
Avion integrates with other product and software development tools like Jira Cloud, Jira Server, Trello, GitHub, Zenhub, etc. Avion pricing starts at $15.75/first three users/month, and they offer a 14-day free trial.
FeatureMap
Best free user story software
Featuremap is a user story mapping software to structure content and set priorities. You can use the software to plan several steps ahead, allowing you to anticipate issues and plan contingencies.
Featuremap also allows you to break down large tasks into smaller ones to make them easier to complete and avoid overwhelming team members. Featuremap is the best user story software for users who prefer an on-premise tool that works well even in areas where internet connectivity is unstable. Being an on-premise tool also means that the lack of internet connection won’t delay product development because users can still access crucial files and documents.
Featuremap is also an excellent option for developing critical products because it is more secure compared to user story software that relies on cloud storage.
Featuremap has a free version, and the pricing of the paid version starts at $6/user/month. They offer a free two-week trial.
Featmap
Best open source user story software
Featmap is an open-source user story software to help you envision what actions the ideal user might take when interacting with your product. You can use Featmap to assign user personas to team members to capture the behaviors and needs of your end-users, allowing you to create user-centric products.
Featmap allows you to share your product vision with team members and stakeholders with unlimited guest accounts (read-only).
Featmap is the best user story software for you if you want to customize it to meet your team’s unique needs because it is open-source software. As open-source software, you can add or remove features depending on your needs to have a user story software with all the critical features and none of the extra ones you don’t need. You can host the software on your own server to save money and increase the security level of your products.
Featmap pricing starts at $9/editor/month and offers a 15-day free trial.
Visual Paradigm
Best for effective communication and collaboration
Visual Paradigm is a comprehensive modeling and design tool that helps teams create user stories and design user interfaces. It provides a systematic approach to product development by allowing users to collaborate on the same project and track progress in real time. The software enables teams to create textual and graphical representations of user stories, making the process more intuitive and engaging.
The software supports multiple platforms, including web, mobile, and desktop. It provides a versatile environment for designing and modeling user interfaces, allowing users to create different levels of user story details, such as epics, user stories, and tasks. Its requirement management feature enables teams to capture, analyze, and manage requirements for new product development. It allows the team to communicate and collaborate effectively, set priorities, and establish clear goals. Additionally, it provides strong traceability, allowing developers to understand precisely how their work fits into the larger project.
It can be integrated with various project management platforms, such as JIRA and Trello, and with development tools. The platform provides a range of project templates and customizable workflows, which can be adapted to suit the needs of different teams and projects. Visual Paradigm offers high-level encryption and data isolation to secure confidential information against unauthorized access. It also has robust backup and recovery mechanisms, which can be helpful in case of data loss or corruption.
Agile User Story Map for JIRA
Best user story software add-on for Jira
Agile User Story Map for JIRA is a user story mapping tool that supports product backlog refinement, allowing you to quickly assess tasks that need completion so you can conduct follow-ups on team members. It also lets users see dependencies to prioritize tasks and promote accountability.
The software uses a Gantt-like timeline, giving you a birds-eye view of your project, so you know if you need more human resources or adjust your budget to meet deadlines. If you need a user story software that’s easy to use even for new users, then Agile User Story Map for JIRA by DevSamurai is an excellent choice because of its drag and drop functionality.
You can add and remove elements with a simple action making the software easy to use and customize. This feature allows you to change, add or remove elements as you discover vulnerabilities and opportunities during the different stages of product development.
Agile User Story Map for JIRA is free for up to 10 users, while the pricing of the paid version starts at $13.75/11 users/month.
Cardboard
Best user story software for ease-of-use
Cardboard is an online whiteboard that your development team can use to create user stories during product development. You can use Cardboard to invite remote team members for real-time collaboration, ensuring that writing user stories becomes a team effort. Cardboard has a drag and drop functionality, making it user-friendly and reducing the learning curve for new users.
Cardboard is an ideal user story software that promotes accountability because it has a swimlanes and dividers feature. Cardboard’s swimlanes and dividers can help users visually distinguish who is responsible for each step in the project, giving them a better idea on who to collaborate with for interconnected steps or tasks. This feature can also help promote accountability because users can visualize how delays on certain steps can impact the overall progress of a project.
Cardboard integrates with other software development tools like Trello, Azure DevOps, VersionOne, and Confluence.
Cardboard pricing starts at $8.50/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.
Easy Agile
Best user story software with work prioritization planning
Easy Agile is a user story software that allows product developers to build simple yet collaborative story maps in Jira. The software allows users to map out user journeys alongside agile boards in Jira. Product devs can add new or existing stories to the story map and prioritize them according to their users’ value.
Easy Agile is the best user story software to break down your user story into smaller and more manageable sections because it has a sprint planning feature. It gives the product owner or scrum master a clearer idea of the product timeline to prevent delays.
Easy Agile also has a version planning feature giving product developers the freedom to experiment with new features without worrying about damaging the active version or model.
Easy Agile pricing starts at $8,000/year/up to 50 users, and they offer a 30-day free trial.
Miro
Best user story software for a collaborative, visual whiteboard
Miro is a digital whiteboard you can use on various projects like brainstorming, webinars, remote meetings, and Agile workflows. It has video conferencing and screen sharing features to make online meetings more engaging and informative. It also has many pre-built templates you can use on almost any type of project, helping you launch projects quickly.
Miro is the best user story software for working on multiple projects because it allows an unlimited number of team members, ensuring that you can deliver products even when pressed for time. With an unlimited number of team members, you have the luxury of bringing in as much talent as you need onboard, ensuring that you have a specialist for unique functionalities you want to implement.
Having an unlimited number of team members also means you can pull out team members and reassign them on other projects without affecting productivity on the current project greatly.
Miro integrates with other productivity and product management tools like Jira Cards, Google Drive, Slack, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Active Directory.
Miro pricing starts at $8/user/month.
Craft.io
Best all-in-one user story software
Craft.io is an end-to-end product management platform, with user story software functionality built in. It provides product professionals with an all-in-one solution to manage the lifecycle of digital products, from feedback collection and feature definition to prioritization, capacity planning, road mapping, and portfolio management.
Using the Feedback Portal, you can collect user experience data and share it with your team. The Feedback Portal also allows you to tag and track user feedback to make informed data-driven decisions. You can then connect that feedback to work items to prioritize the work according to actual user needs. This enables you to launch new products with the confidence that you can acquire and utilize user feedback in a way that's easily accessible for your product roadmap.
Craft.io integrates with Jira, Azure DevOps, GitLab, GitHub, Targetprocess, Teams, Slack, Dropbox, Okta, Google Workspace, Active Directory, SAML, Google Drive, Confluence, Salesforce, PingIdentity, and 1,000s of additional applications via Zapier.Craft.io integrates with Jira, Azure DevOps, GitLab, GitHub, Targetprocess, Teams, Slack, Dropbox, Okta, Google Workspace, Active Directory, SAML, Google Drive, Confluence, Salesforce, PingIdentity, and 1,000s of additional applications via Zapier.
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iFrame_oldThe 10 Best User Story Solutions Summary
Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Productboard Best user story software for product feature prioritization | 15-day free trial | From $20/user/month | Visit Website |
2 | Avion Best user story software for complex backlogs | 14 days free trial | From $15.75/first three users/month | Visit Website |
3 | FeatureMap Best free user story software | 14-day free trial | From $6/user/month | Visit Website |
4 | Featmap Best open source user story software | 15 days free trial | From $9/editor/month | Visit Website |
5 | Visual Paradigm Best for effective communication and collaboration | 30-day free trial available | Plans start at $6/month | Visit Website |
6 | Agile User Story Map for JIRA Best user story software add-on for Jira | Not available | From $13.75/11 users/month | Visit Website |
7 | Cardboard Best user story software for ease-of-use | 14 days free trial | From $8.50/user/month | Visit Website |
8 | Easy Agile Best user story software with work prioritization planning | 30 days free trial | From $8,000/year/up to 50 users | Visit Website |
9 | Miro Best user story software for a collaborative, visual whiteboard | Free plan available | From $10/user/month | Visit Website |
10 | Craft.io Best all-in-one user story software | 14-day free trial | From $39/month/user, billed annually | Visit Website |
Other User Story Software Options
- Jira Software - User story & product management software great for software development teams
- Trello - Simple Kanban board with options for creating card-based user personas and user stories
- Asana - Free story mapping software for small teams & startups
- monday.com - Complete project management platform with user story mapping tools
- Wrike - Easy-to-use project management app with story mapping software & templates built-in
- ClickUp - Product & task management with user story mapping as one of many project types
- GitLab - Comprehensive DevSecOps platform with options for user story mapping tools
- Azure DevOps - Microsoft's answer to product management & development, with user story mapping software packed in
- Pivotal Tracker - Agile product management solution that includes story mapping software built-in
- Zoho Sprints - Affordable, easy-to-use product software with user story mapping tools
People Also Ask
Here are a few questions you might have before you get started.
What is a User Story?
A user story is a profile of your target user and a map of the struggles they face that your product can fix for them. User stories are an important part of new product development because they define your ideal customer and regulate all tasks, features, and design around a signuar cause of helping your users overcome a problem they face. Without a user story, you may find that your product is too broad, too narrow, or missing the mark on what's really improtant to modern consumers.
Every product team should keep their user story close at hand and relate everything they do back to it, always asking: "Does X really help my target audience or am I losing the thread?"
“At the end of the day, your job is to minimize output, and maximize outcome and impact.” — Jeff Patton, author of User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product
What is an Example of User Stories?
A user story could follow this simple format: "As a [type of user], I want to [do such-and-such task] in order to [accomplish a goal]." It's then your responsibility to fill in the blanks for your target customer as you envision them. A few examples might be:
- As a busy team lead, I want a mobile app that can automatically schedule and track my daily tasks so that I can stay organized and increase my productivity.
- As a fitness enthusiast, I want a smart water bottle that can measure my water intake and remind me to drink water regularly so that I can stay hydrated and achieve my fitness goals.
- As a frequent traveler, I want a compact luggage bag that can be easily transformed into a backpack so that I can carry it comfortably and conveniently during my travels.
Below, you'll find a sample user story as generated through Craft.io so that you can see what it looks like to have a more visual, detailed, and colaborative approach:

What are the Benefits of User Story Software?
The benefits of employing user story software include:
- Feature prioritization guidance: You can easily pick what features to focus on in the backlog because it's not arbitrary; it all centers around what your end user needs most.
- Organizational focus: The things that are the most important to your users should also be the most important to your business. Use these to craft brand values.
- Minimize risks: You now know what your ideal user wants so you can minimize risks by crafting each milestone around that knowledge. No detours!
- Key performance indicators (KPIs) are clear: Your goals and KPIs can and should all center around the elements that are most important to your customer. Customer stories help you narrow down what those are.
What are the Key Features of User Story Software?
Key features that I look for when selecting the best user story software include:
- User Personas: A concise visualization of who your ideal customer is, what they do, and what they need from you.
- User Story Mapping: Designing the path your users will follow as they onboard and then advance through your product.
- Agile Framework: The ability for agile teams to produce, adapt, iterate, and update quickly and efficiently.
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Understanding the bare minimum product your users will need to find value in teaming up with you.
- Backlog: Wishlist features that can be sorted through and prioritized later down the line when resources free up.
- Epics: Ability to break down large project needs into smaller, more manageable chunks.
- Templates: User story templates so you aren't having to start from scratch.
- Iteration: Room to change and develop user stories and personas as your product grows.
- Workflow Tools: Basic tools for the workflow process like task management, commenting, collaboration, and timelines.
- Visualization Options: Digital whiteboards, kanban boards, virtual index cards, text/image story points, and other creative ways to have a shared understanding of the user's perspective.
- Examples of User Stories: Guidance for your product team on what a user story should look like and contain hen complete.
What Other User Experience Resources Should I Check Out?
If you're already thinking about user story software, your next steps might encompase:
- 10 Best New Product Development Software
- 10 Best Free Prototyping Tools For Product Design
- How To Use User Story Mapping To Improve Agile Backlog Prioritization
- What Is An Agile Epic? Best Practices, Template & Example
Improving user experience one user story at a time
Every good product starts with a user story. User stories provide product developers with a precise idea on what they need to build, for whom they are building it and why they are building it. With the help of excellent user story software, developers can look at their products from the standpoint of end-users to ensure excellent user experience and inspire brand loyalty.
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