user story mapping, discover the whole story

Jeff [email protected]: @jeffpatton
Story Mappingdiscover the whole story
??????????????????

Je Pa'on & Associates, [email protected]'onassociates.com, twi'[email protected]'on
Stupid stuff I used to believe about Agile stories:
1. Stories are way to document requirements in Agile processes
2. Good stories are small3. Good product backlogs are
prioritized lists of stories4. Each story we build is valuable to
customers and users2

Documents dont work the way you
think they do
3

Imagine a simple phone conversa?on...
Jen Yates Cake Wrecks: www.cakewrecks.com4

Specifying in wri?ng doesnt work well
h5p://www.cakewrecks.com/
Cake Wrecks, book by Jen Yates, 5

Some

When we share and sign o a document we may believe we understand
12

Kent has a disruptively simple idea
13

Stop it.Stop exchanging documents.
Tell me your story.
If we we could just talk about this, we could gure it out
together.
14

The original idea of a story was simple: use it to facilitate a conversa?on
15
someone who wants something
Ive written on the card what
I want
Well talk about it to
discover the details of what I need to build.
someone who builds
something

Stories get their name from how we use them, not how we
write them.16

But, we still managed to screw that up
17

blah blah blahdy-blah bblah blah blahdy-blah blah
blah blahdy-blah
bblah blah blahdy-blah blah
blah blahdy-blah
bblah blah blahdy-blah blah
This is a Scrum backlog grooming session
18
??????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????
???????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????

This isnt the kind of conversation Kent
had in mind
19

Something special is going on during an
effective conversation
20

With a shallow discussion, we may all take away something dierent
21

When we externalize our thinking with words and pictures, we detect dierences
22

When we combine and rene, we arrive at something be'er
23

A4erwards, when we say the same thing, we actually mean it
24

Shared understanding and alignment are the objec;ves of collabora;ve work
Credit for this illustra;on goes to ThoughtWorks Luke Barret. Je PaGon drew these illustra;ons based on Lukes. Luke doesnt recall where he rst saw this cartoon.
25

Words and pictures help everyone build shared understanding
26

To build shared understanding, use sketching and recording on walls and whiteboards
27

Je Pa'on & Associates, [email protected]'onassociates.com, twi'[email protected]'on 28

Shared Understanding and collabora?on at Atlassian
29

30

31

What you record during conversa?ons works like a vaca?on photo
Looking at it helps you remember details that arent in the photo
32

!Je Pa'on & Associates, [email protected]'onassociates.com, twi'[email protected]'on
What you record during conversa?ons works like a vaca?on photo
Looking at it helps you remember details that arent in the photo
33

Effective story conversations build shared understanding
The best documents use words and pictures to help recall our
conversations, they dont replace conversations
34

Y
Youll have to think things through
35

This is a cake for a baby shower

Y
I dont think they thought this through...
37

This is a cake for a baby shower

Talk about the outcome, not just the output
output outcome
we want thiswe build this
41

Stories are an an?dote to requirements
SoYware development has been steered wrong by the word requirement, dened in the
dic?onary as something mandatory or obligatory.
The word carries a connota?on of absolu?sm and permanence, inhibitors to embracing change. And
the word requirement is just plain wrong.
42

Kent suggested we talk about what
happens when things come out
43

Talk about who does what, and why What I was thinking
of was the way users some?mes tell stories about the cool new things the
soYware they use does:
I type in the zip code and it automatically fills in the city and state without me having to touch a button! I think that was the example that triggered the idea. If you can tell stories about what the soYware does and generate energy and interest and a vision in
your listener's mind, then why not tell stories before the soYware does it?
44

Say Hi to Rachel45

Rachel and her team at Connextra created a clever conversa?on starter
46
whowhatwhy
conversation starter
good short title

Focus discussion and collaboration around
who will use the product and how theyll work later, after delivery
47

Stories have a simple lifecycle
Conversa?on
Conrma?on
* Ron Jeffries coined the 3 Cs in Extreme Programming Installed
!! !
?
Card

If you replace a conversa?on with a document, youve stopped using stories
49

Stories arent a different way to write requirements, theyre
a different way to work
50

Its easy to get nowhere fast
51

A Story Map helps organize discussion about users experience with our product
Gary Levitt, owner & designer of Mad Mimi
52
Explore Details smaller steps alternative steps UI details technical details
Map Use (from the users perspective)
backbone (gives structure to the map)
Frame the idea(why build the
product) Understand Users(what are their goals)

Gary ul;mately built a successful product
53

A story map is a simple way to tell a story and break it down into parts
54

Build story maps in small collabora?ve groups
55

Use the map for con?nuous discussion
56

Discussions drive out more details, validate, and build shared understanding
57
Talking through the map with multiple users and subject matter experts helps test it for completeness

Use story maps to understand your whole product or features experience
Use mapping to break down big stories without losing the
big picture
58

If I hear MVP one more time, Im going
to shoot myself
59

Plan by slicing the map into holis?c valuable releases
60

61

62

Target outcome
Outcome-centric roadmap
MVP MVP: Minimal Viable Product The smallest product
you could build that reaches your target outcomes
Its NOT - the crappiest thing that could possibly work
If it dies in the market, its wasnt viable
Your job is to build LESS soYware
63

But, how do you know if youre
hypothesis is correct?
64

You dont
65

Delivering your hypothe?cal solu?on a piece at a ?me delays learning
66
Hypothesis:
output outcome
$$$impact
* Artwork and concept described by Henrik Kniberg

Deliver minimum viable product tests to a smaller audience to nd whats really viable
67
Hypothesis:
output outcome
$$$impact
MVP?somewhere around here
* Artwork and concept described by Henrik Kniberg

Eric has organized his backlog into a series of release slices
68

Nothing leaves their board un?l theres been a discussion on what theyve learned
Snag-a-Jobs task board photo courtesy of David Bi5enbender
Explicit release step
Explicit measure step & metrics
69

You wont finish on time
72

accurate estimate is an oxymoron
73

To release benefit on a schedule well need to budget, and leverage
incremental and iterative thinking
(Whats the difference?)
74

incremen?ng builds a bit at a ?me
1 2 3 4 5
Incrementing calls for a fully formed idea.
And, doing it on time requires dead accurate estimation.
75

itera;ng and incremen;ng builds a rough version, validates it, then slowly builds up quality
1 2 3
A more iterative allows you to move from vague idea to realization making course corrections as you go.
4 5
76

Je Pa'on & Associates, [email protected]'onassociates.com, twi'[email protected]'on193 77
Many organiza?ons consider revising the same func?onality as failure. Itera?on is not tolerated.

timeJe Pa'on & Associates, [email protected]'onassociates.com, twi'[email protected]'on
Work like an ar?st to envision and build the product holis?cally
78
Art is never finished, only abandoned.
-Leonardo DaVinci

End Game
Over time the value of stories begin to diminish signaling its time for release
Mid Game
Once were confident we have the shape of the product right, we begin to pile in value
Opening GameEarly stories emphasize iteration and learning. We need to be sure were building the right product
Organize work to maximize learning
The inverse of risk is knowledge
Learning earlier about delivery risks helps us nish on ?me
Alistair Cockburn refers to cuhng the small polishing stories as trimming the tail.
timeac
qui
red
pro
duc
t kno
wle
dg
e
79

Use a story map to slice out a delivery strategy
80

Consider these four story splihng heuris?cs that build up qualityBare Necessity For the feature to be minimally demonstrable but not releasable, what is the minimal func

user
task
s to
sup
port
releaseD D D D D I IB- C C- D D D DA- B B- B B B B-A- A B A A- A- B-
sprint
1234
Product goal: (in 4 sprints) ship the best product possible82
Building up quality itera?vely and incrementally ships the best product possible
1. We know each story can be split into at least four parts2. Early itera

Sculpture at various stages of comple

Build up software iteratively and
incrementally to release the highest quality possible on time
84

1. Tell stories, dont just write them2. Use simple visualizations to anchor the stories
you tell3.Tell the whole story to find the parts that matter
most4. Think things through: minimize output,
maximize outcome and impact5. Build to minimum viable product tests to find
whats minimum and viable in the market Effective stories connect everyone to the purpose
of your product
70

Jeff [email protected]: @jeffpatton
Story Mappingdiscover the whole story
??????????????????