User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product

by Jeff Patton

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 (or a kilometer wide and a centimeter deep, for my friends in the rest of the world). 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. For extra credit, sketch, prototype, test, and refine solution ideas—changing and refining the map as you go. 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 minimum viable product 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 sliced away everything you don’t need to deliver, you’ll be left with what you do need. Now slice your minimum vi...