Story Mapping Workshop

BEYOND POST-ITS:
A STORY MAPPING WORKSHOP
jenny chisnell
gyro
03.02.16

Intro
What is Story Mapping?
Individual exercise
Break into groups
Conclusion
AGENDA

5
A technique to understand
user behavior, so that you can
create the appropriate features
and functions in your product
to make their lives better.

What is Story
Mapping?

6
Who should
use it?
YOU, of course! ;D
•  Product managers
•  UX practitioners
•  Product owners
•  Project managers in IT
•  Agile/Lean folks
•  Everyone else! It’s a “team sport.”

7
Why is it
important?
“Reorganizing cards [or post-its!] together
allows you to communicate without saying a word.”
-Jeff Patton

8
It’s all about externalizing
perspectives and distilling abstract
concepts into a concrete artifact--
taking ideas out of people’s brains
and putting them down on paper.

9
Much as wireframes gives a
common visual reference point for
cross-disciplinary team members
to discuss, the story map is
something anyone can (literally)
point to and everyone knows
exactly what she’s talking about.

11
Hit
snooze
Hit
snooze
again
Roll out
of bed
Crack
eggs
Scramble
Put on
coat
Grab
bag
Grab
keys
Wake up Make
coffee
Make
breakfast Relax Out the
door
Enjoy
coffee
Read
Facebook
on phone

12
“Story mapping consists of ordering user stories along two
independent dimensions.
The "map" arranges user activities along the horizontal axis in
rough order of priority (or "the order in which you would
describe activities to explain the behaviour of the system").
Down the vertical axis, it represents increasing sophistication
of the implementation.
Given a story map so arranged, the first horizontal row
represents a "walking skeleton", a bare-bones but usable
version of the product. Working through successive rows
fleshes out the product with additional functionality.”
- Agile Alliance
Story Mapping
defined.

Frame the problem. Who is it for, and why are we building it?
Map the big picture. Focus on breadth, not depth. Go a mile wide and an inch deep. If you don’t have a clear
solution in mind, or even if you think you do, try mapping the world as it is today, including pains and joys your
users have.
Explore. Go deep and talk about other types of users and people, how else they might do things, and the kinds of
things that can (and likely will) go wrong.
Slice out a release strategy. Remember: there’s always too much to build. Focus on what you’re trying to achieve
for your business, and on the people your product will serve. Slice away what’s not needed to reveal minimum
solutions that both delight people and help your organization reach its goals.
Slice out a learning strategy. You may have identified what you think is a minimum viable solution, but
remember that it’s a hypothesis until you prove otherwise. Use the map and discussion to help you find your
biggest risks. Slice the map into even smaller experiments that you can place in front of a subset of your users
to learn what’s really valuable to them.
Slice out a development strategy. If you’ve slice away everything you don’t need to deliver, you’ll be left with
what you do need. Now slice your minimum viable solution into the parts you’d like to build earlier and later.
Focus on building things early that help you learn to spot technical issues and development risks sooner.
JEFF PATTON’S SIX STEPS TO A STORY MAP
1
2
3
4
5
6

15
SCENARIO: You are part of a team at a start-up developing the next great
smartphone app—a “Tinder for Musicians.” It will allow its users to go
beyond the traditional Craigslist “Need bandmates” ad to be a fully-
integrated app that will enable putting together a band: auditioning,
scheduling rehearsals, potentially even finding a manager and booking gigs.

DAVE
THE DRUMMER
STORYMAPPING WORKSHOP
MARCH 2016

EMOTIONAL DRIVERS

WHAT KEEPS HIM UP AT NIGHT
•  Not
ge'ng
any
younger,
will
he
ever
realize

his
musical
dreams?

He
came
close
to
his
“big

break”
in
his
early
20s
with
a
previous
band,

but
fame
has
yet
to
materialize.

•  Cost
of
new
equipment;
is
trying
to
build
a
top-‐
notch
drum
kit.

PERCEIVED BARRIERS/HURDLES
•  Slightly
distrusHul
of
a
new
digital
way
to

assemble
and
manage
a
rock
band;
prefers

face-‐to-‐face
contact
from
the
get-‐go
over

mediaIng
through
a
screen.

•  Has
a
bit
of
a
chip
on
his
shoulder;
doesn’t
feel

he
is
where
he
planned
on
being
at
this
point

in
his
life.

ASPIRATIONS
•  Currently
plays
part-‐Ime
in
a
number
of

different
bands
with
different
styles
of
music,

because
talented
drummers
are
so
hard
to

come
by.

Wants
to
have
“his
own”
band,
of

sorts,
and
devote
his
Ime
to
it
exclusively.

TECHNOLOGY / DEVICES
•  Samsung
Galaxy

•  Macbook

•  No
tablet

RATIONAL DRIVERS
PURCHASE DRIVERS
•  DisorganizaIon
has
caused
previous
methods
of

assembling
a
band
to
fail—too
much
to
keep
track

of
using
different,
mostly
analog,
systems.

Looking

for
an
alternaIve,
and
will
happily
invest
in
the

right
one.

•  Just
got
a
raise
at
work,
more
income
to
devote
to

musical
accessories.

DECISION CRITERIA
•  App
must
be
VERY
intuiIve
and
easy
to
use
out-‐of-‐
the-‐box
in
order
to
overcome
distrust.

•  Audio
files
are
not
too
“lossy”
(i.e.
poorly

compressed—but
without
being
prohibiIvely
large

in
file
size
either);
wants
to
capture
percussive

sound
at
its
best,
albeit
taking
Inny
cellphone

speakers
into
account.

SUCCESS FACTORS
•  Found
awesome
new
band
members
to
rock
with!

•  OpportuniIes
on
the
horizon
for
pu'ng
together
a

tour.

THINKING STYLE
CreaIve
|
IdealisIc
|
Non-‐Linear

DAVE:
THE DRUMMER
DAY JOB: Tattoo Artist
24 years experience tattooing
Age 42, unmarried, no kids (that he knows of)
Education: “PhD in the School of Hard Knocks,”
according to Facebook profile
Has been playing drums since the age of 11
Annual income from day job: $42,000/year
RESPONSIBILITIES:
•  Keep the beat
•  Owns the equipment van
•  Sings occasional backup vocals
•  Important to him to be involved in major decisions; due to
age and experience, he has a self-conception of being a
leader/in charge, and he may consequently butt heads with
the lead vocalist, who is typically the “face” of the band
•  Has a buddy with a job editing video, can be a hookup
when the time comes to make a music video

ZOEY
THE LEAD SINGER
STORYMAPPING WORKSHOP
MARCH 2016

RATIONAL DRIVERS
PURCHASE DRIVERS
•  First
sees
an
ad
for
the
app
while
playing
Words

With
Friends.

•  Money
is
Ight,
so
will
not
likely
upgrade
to
the

paid
version
unless
the
features
are
appealing

enough.

DECISION CRITERIA
•  Will
base
much
of
her
decision
on
the
app’s

aestheIc
appeal;
as
a
Millennial,
her
preferences

run
towards
Flat
Design.

•  Not
too
steep
of
a
learning
curve;
her
Ime
for

learning
runs
at
a
premium.

•  Responds
strongly
to
“elements
of
delight.”

SUCCESS FACTORS
•  The
app
is
sophisIcated
enough
to
help
her

accomplish
all
the
tasks
required
to
put
together

a
band.

•  Life
is
a
party!

THINKING STYLE
CreaIve
|
RaIonal
|
Linear

EMOTIONAL DRIVERS

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT
•  Ge'ng
enough
shibs
at
work
to
keep
things

aﬂoat.

•  Worries
about
being
able
to
balance
a
band,

a
job,
and
single
motherhood…but
music
is

sIll
her
outlet,
her
pasIme,
a
joy
in
her
life.

•  Her
infant
child
(literally-‐-‐it
cries
and
cries!).

PERCEIVED BARRIERS/HURDLES
•  Totally
accepts,
even
advocates,
for
an
app

to
bring
musicians
together,
but
already
has

20
apps
on
her
phone
she’s
not
using;
her

afenIon
is
hard
to
win
and
easily
divided.

•  An
outgoing
performer,
but
shy
when
she

ﬁrst
meets
people….can
be
socially
awkward.

ASPIRATIONS
•  Really
wants
to
make
new
friends;
feels

socially
isolated
by
early
parenthood.

•  Dreams
of
playing
SxSW
someday;
ulImate

dream
is
to

get
signed
to
Columbia
Records.

•  Wants
to
“meet
cute
band
guys!
:D”

TECHNOLOGY / DEVICES
•  iPhone
5s

•  HP
Pavilion

•  iPad
(4th
generaIon)

ZOEY:
THE LEAD SINGER
DAY JOB: Waitress at a vegan restaurant
2 years experience waiting tables
Age 19, single, 6-month old baby girl
Education: dropped out after a semester of college,
plans on going back to school eventually but not soon
Sang in choir in high school; a multi-instrumentalist,
she also plays guitar and tambourine
Annual income from day job: $28,000/year
RESPONSIBILITIES:
•  Coordinate practice times (she has to work around her
childcare schedule and waitressing shifts)
•  Head up any booking activities, but bring decisions back to
the band for a democratic vote
•  Compose lyrics
•  Sing lead
•  Play guitar and occasional tambourine

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