Passive Voice to Active User Story

User Story Analysis

Original: “Users should be able to download their data in CSV or JSON format”

Issues Detected:
⚠️ Generic role (“Users” - which type of user specifically?)
⚠️ Passive voice (“should be able to”)
❌ Missing benefit (no “so that…” - why download? what’s the value?)

Formatted User Story

As a data analyst working with customer insights,
I want to download my query results and datasets in CSV or JSON format,
So that I can perform advanced analysis in Excel, Python, or integrate the data into external reporting tools.

Component Validation

✅ Role: “data analyst working with customer insights”

• Specific: Yes (defines job function and work context)
• Authentic: Yes (real persona with clear analytical needs)

✅ Goal: “download my query results and datasets in CSV or JSON format”

• Specific: Yes (identifies both data export formats)
• Testable: Yes (can verify both CSV and JSON downloads work)
• User-focused: Yes (describes user action without technical implementation details)

✅ Benefit: “perform advanced analysis in Excel, Python, or integrate the data into external reporting tools”

• Clear value: Yes (enables analysis workflows and integrations)
• Outcome-oriented: Yes (focuses on what user can accomplish)
• Measurable: Could track export feature usage and format preferences

Improvements Made

1. Specified role: Changed generic “Users” to “data analyst working with customer insights” (provides context for why download matters)
2. Made active: Changed passive “should be able to” to active “I want to download”
3. Added scope context: “query results and datasets” clarifies what data can be downloaded
4. Added missing benefit: Explains why downloads are needed (external analysis tools and workflows)
5. Specified use cases: Excel, Python, and integration tools show concrete value

Suggested Enhancements

Consider adding:

• Acceptance criteria: “Downloads complete within 10 seconds for datasets up to 50,000 rows”
• Edge cases: Large dataset handling, rate limiting, partial downloads, encoding options (UTF-8)
• Success metrics: % of users using export feature monthly, preferred format distribution
• Security: “Only download data user has permission to access”

Alternative framings:

• For compliance officer: “As a compliance officer preparing audit documentation, I want to download transaction records in CSV format, so that I can submit required regulatory reports to external auditors.”
• For developer: “As an API developer building integrations, I want to download sample data in JSON format, so that I can test my application against realistic data structures.”
• For business owner: “As a business owner tracking performance, I want to download sales reports in CSV format, so that I can share financial data with my accountant.”