Unclear Goals and Outcomes

In one sprint review last quarter, a team spent two days building a feature that no one could explain the purpose of. The story read: “As a user, I want to see the dashboard.” When asked what success looked like, the dev team shrugged. That’s not a story — it’s a placeholder for a conversation that never happened. I’ve seen this pattern repeat across teams: vague goals lead to misaligned work, wasted effort, and acceptance criteria that feel tacked on.

Unclear user story goals compromise testability, reduce shared understanding, and erode trust between product and delivery. This chapter cuts through the noise with real examples, practical rewrite techniques, and a clear framework for turning ambiguous intent into measurable outcomes.

When your story lacks a clear goal, you’re not just writing poorly — you’re hiding the real work behind a curtain of assumed meaning. The fix lies in shifting focus from *what* to build to *why* it matters. We’ll explore how to reframe stories around user value, use goal-driven user stories, and test for clarity.

Why Unclear Goals Break Agile Delivery

Agile isn’t about speed. It’s about delivering *meaningful* outcomes. When goals are ambiguous, teams build features that don’t solve real problems. Here’s how it usually plays out:

Stories like “As a user, I want to save my work” or “As a manager, I want to export reports” sound functional but offer no insight into why. What happens if the user can’t save? Why does exporting matter? Without the so that clause, the story becomes a task, not a value statement.

Consider this real example from a healthcare SaaS product: “As a doctor, I want to access patient notes.” The team built a full-featured notes viewer in two weeks. But during UAT, the doctor said, “I don’t need to see all the notes — I need to see the last three lines from yesterday’s visit.” The goal was missing, and the outcome was misaligned.

The real cost isn’t just rework. It’s lost trust. When teams build what they think is right, but users don’t care, the product loses credibility. And once trust erodes, every story becomes a negotiation.

Identifying the Signs of Unclear Story Purpose

Ask these questions during backlog refinement:

• Can I explain the goal in one sentence without referencing the UI or technical function?
• Would a new team member understand the value before seeing the code?
• What changes in the user’s life after this feature works?
• How would I measure success? Is there a measurable outcome?

If any answer feels vague or depends on technical jargon, the story likely suffers from unclear story purpose.

Rebuilding Stories Around Clear Outcomes

Good stories start with a user goal. That means the so that clause isn’t optional. It’s the anchor of the story. When you rewrite with a clear outcome, you invite collaboration, enable testing, and align delivery with real-world impact.

Let’s walk through a transformation. Here’s a weak story:

As a customer,
I want to update my profile.
So that I can fix my address.

Why is this weak? “Fix my address” is not a goal. It’s a task. What does “fix” mean? Is it updating a typo? Adding a new unit number? The story doesn’t say.

Now, here’s the improved version:

As a customer,
I want to update my shipping address
so that I can receive my order on time.

Now the goal is clear: on-time delivery. This reframing enables acceptance criteria like:

• When the address is updated and the order is placed, the delivery date is adjusted if needed.
• If the address is invalid (e.g., missing ZIP), the system shows a warning before checkout.

Notice how the outcome — timely delivery — becomes the testable condition. This is the essence of goal driven user stories.

Three Rules for Goal-Driven User Stories

1. Every story must answer “Why?” The so that clause must express a real user benefit — not a process step.
2. Use outcome language — “to reduce friction,” “to avoid delays,” “to complete tasks faster.” These signal impact, not features.
3. Avoid outcome-free verbs — “update,” “save,” “view” alone don’t imply value. Add context: “update my email to avoid missing notifications.”

Tools for Testing Clarity: The Outcome Check

Before sprint planning, run this quick audit on every story:

Check	Pass	Fail
Can I replace “so that” with “because I want to”?	Yes → story is outcome-focused	No → likely task-oriented
Is the outcome measurable?	Yes → e.g., “reduce form errors by 30%”	No → e.g., “improve user experience”
Would the user care if this worked?	Yes → it delivers real value	No → it’s internal or technical

Use this checklist during backlog refinement. If a story fails more than one test, it’s a prime candidate for rewriting.

Here’s another example:

• Before: “As a user, I want to see my orders.”
• After: “As a user, I want to see my recent orders so that I can track delivery status and avoid duplicate payments.”

The second version explicitly ties the feature to a user pain point: avoiding double payments. That’s a real outcome. The first version? Just a view.

When Stories are Too Broad: Refining Scope with Purpose

Some stories fail not because the goal is unclear, but because the goal is too broad. For example:

As a customer,
I want to manage my account
so that I can keep my information up to date.

“Manage my account” is a portal, not a goal. It includes updating email, password, profile, preferences, and preferences. Each of these has different outcomes.

Break it into smaller, outcome-focused stories:

• As a customer, I want to update my email so that I can receive order confirmations.
• As a customer, I want to change my password so that I can maintain account security.
• As a customer, I want to update my shipping preferences so that I don’t miss deliveries.

Each of these has a distinct, testable goal. One story, one outcome. This is the power of goal driven user stories — they force clarity and prevent scope creep.

Key Takeaways

Unclear user story goals are a silent killer of Agile effectiveness. They create work that doesn’t matter, acceptance criteria that don’t test what matters, and trust that erodes over time.

Reframing stories around outcomes — not features — transforms them from technical tasks into value statements. This is how we ensure teams don’t just build what’s asked, but what’s needed.

Always ask: What changes in the user’s life when this works? If you can’t answer that, the story isn’t ready.

Use the Outcome Check to audit stories before sprint planning. Split broad goals into atomic, testable outcomes. And remember: a story is a placeholder for conversation — but that conversation must be about value.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my story has a clear goal?

Run the outcome test. Replace the “so that” clause with “because I want to…” If the result is still vague or technical, the goal is unclear. A good goal should describe a user benefit: reduced effort, faster access, better decision-making.

Can a story have more than one outcome?

Yes — but only if the outcomes are independent and measurable. For example: “As a user, I want to save my progress so that I don’t lose my work and so that I can return later.” This is acceptable, but only if both outcomes are testable. If not, split into two stories.

What if the user can’t articulate the goal?

That’s why we don’t rely on user quotes alone. Use data: session recordings, support tickets, or onboarding drop-off points. If users keep abandoning a form, the goal might be “to reduce form abandonment by 25%.” That’s a measurable outcome worth building toward.

Are acceptance criteria the same as the goal?

No. The goal is the *why* — the outcome. Acceptance criteria are the *how* — the conditions for success. A story about “reducing delivery delays” needs acceptance criteria like: “At least 90% of orders delivered within 48 hours.” The goal defines value; the criteria define verification.

Should every story have a goal?

Yes. Even technical stories (e.g., “As a developer, I want to refactor the payment service”) should include a goal: “so that we can reduce error rates in transaction processing.” Without a goal, even technical work lacks alignment and accountability.

How often should I revisit story goals?

At every backlog refinement. As the product evolves, so do user needs. Revisit old stories: does the original goal still apply? Can it be rewritten to reflect current priorities? A story that once made sense may now be outdated or misaligned.