Creating a backlog of user stories is pretty straight forward but it doesn't help you when it comes to decisions like what to build first, how to prioritize and groom the backlog, how to scope and plan the project, and how to visualize progress. The traditional backlog is simply too flat and often too long to help you see the bigger picture and make good decisions. User Story Mapping helps simplify all of these common project issues. By adding a third dimension to your backlog, your team will make better decisions about priorities, scope, and planning while improving your ability to visualize progress. In this practical session I’ll cover the basics of user story mapping before walking you through case studies of how our teams are using this approach and the results we are achieving. I'll show you the before, during, and after pictures from several projects so that you can understand how our maps progress during the projects and how we use them to influence iterative development, promote good decision making, and visualize priorities, plans, scope and progress.