A story map is a visual representation of the journey a user takes with a product, including various activities and tasks they undertake. Developed by Jeff Patton, story mapping is a holistic approach to product planning and organization, especially in agile development methodologies.
The story map provides a more structured approach to backlog management, ensuring that the work remains focused on the user’s needs and the product’s overarching goals.
Structure of a Story Map:
- User Activities (Topmost Level): These are high-level tasks or activities users perform with the product. They’re typically laid out from left to right in the order a user might undertake them. For example, in an e-commerce context, activities might include “Browse products,” “Select product,” “Add to cart,” “Make payment,” and “Check out.”
- User Tasks (Middle Level): Beneath each activity, you break down the specific tasks that users might undertake. Using the e-commerce example, under “Browse products,” tasks might include “Search for a product,” “Filter products,” “View product categories,” etc.
- User Stories (Bottom Level): Under each task, you can further detail specific user stories which are actionable chunks of work the development team will undertake. For example, under “Search for a product,” a user story might be “As a user, I want to enter a product name in the search bar so I can quickly find what I’m looking for.”
Benefits of Story Mapping:
- Visual Overview: It provides a visual, holistic overview of the product, ensuring everyone understands the big picture and the details.
- Prioritization: By understanding the user’s journey, teams can better prioritize which stories (or features) are most crucial and should be developed first.
- Improved Collaboration: It fosters better communication and collaboration among team members, as they can visualize and discuss the product’s progression.
- Facilitates Releases: Teams can easily define releases by grouping related stories together.
- Keeps Focus on Users: By structuring around user activities and tasks, the product remains centered on user needs and experiences.
Creating a Story Map:
- Gather the Right People: Include a mix of team members, from developers to stakeholders, to get diverse insights.
- Define User Activities: Start by listing out high-level user activities, placing them across the top of your map.
- Break Down into Tasks: For each activity, list out the tasks users would perform.
- Detail with User Stories: Under each task, specify the user stories or features that need to be developed.
- Prioritize: Decide the order in which stories should be tackled. This often leads to the creation of a “walking skeleton” – a bare-bones but usable version of the product that can be built upon.
- Review and Adjust: As the product evolves, revisit the story map, adjusting and refining based on feedback and new insights.
A story map is a flexible tool and can be adapted based on the product’s needs and the team’s preferences. Whether created with sticky notes on a wall or using digital tools, the key is to maintain a user-focused perspective throughout product development.
