I like the workflow Jeff describes in his article. They keep writing user stories with their clients. I imagine that those stories are written in plain english but in a brief, informal, easy-to-understand style. Much more useful than Cucumber features as communication token, I think.
In my experience, Cucumber features are less useful as user stories than regular user stories and harder to maintain as acceptance tests than regular acceptance tests. Some people may see value in turning user stories into acceptance tests and keep them in sync during all the lifetime of a project. But 80% of value is just in turning every user story into an acceptance test. Jeff's workflow does exactly that, but without the additional effort that maintaining Cucumber features involves.
In my experience, Cucumber features are less useful as user stories than regular user stories and harder to maintain as acceptance tests than regular acceptance tests. Some people may see value in turning user stories into acceptance tests and keep them in sync during all the lifetime of a project. But 80% of value is just in turning every user story into an acceptance test. Jeff's workflow does exactly that, but without the additional effort that maintaining Cucumber features involves.