Introduction
After reading User Story Mapping by Jeff Patton, I understand that this process begins with seeing the entire journey of a product as whole rather than focusing on details (at least in the prototyping part). After this, we need to break down our goals into small accomplishable steps.. This strategy helps our group see how all the different pieces of our own product may connect, pointing out any gaps or misaligned priority features in its early stages. An example I can come up with is that… we want to create a travel app!!. Our goal is to identify features or requirements like “add login” or “create payment system” users will access when they come to use the app very easily. But user story mapping starts with, what a user actually want to do, such as plan a trip (to Cusco, Peru for instance), they would need to explore possible destinations, create their flight and find local experiences based on target attractions. Structuring the development of an app based on what the user does, wants and struggles with will keep the process human powered, and provide value with each feature associated with the overall experience!
Complementary Aspects – Seeing the whole picture
In a collaborative design session, (just as we are doing currently with Soup and Bread) we need a design team working on our food delivery application. Instead of debating discrete features linked to the product like “add rating system” or “remodel checkout page,” story mapping guides the conversation towards visualizing the experience completely, from craving a meal to tracking the food delivery, so decision-making remains grounded in what people will actually need as users! We have the “big picture” mentality(at least for now) to then focus on details later on (after obtaining feedback)
Practical Benefits
- Fosters shared dialog and consensus, minimizing confusion about goals and outcomes.
- Helps catch mismatched needs, redundancies, and poorly sequenced development early
- Helps keep everyone grounded in user value from research and ultimately create products that solve real needs and not simply require specification and requirements.
- Enables iterative updates as needs change and demonstrates changes over time
Personal Reflection
When I think back on my time in Peru, I remember how much of daily life is spent figuring out an organized sort of chaos. This is especially true when one is attempting to traverse Lima’s frenetic and unpredictable traffic. One example is Cabify, a peruvian app, that helps individuals figure out the best routes to maneuver around traffic and adjust in real time when a new route is needed. Similarly, story mapping in product design purposes the same structuring of complexity, organizing each step of the user journey into a framework toward an explicit “why.” For example, the Cabify takes a few factors into consideration to help the rider and driver find the best fit but in a manner that anticipates exits, readjusts for shortcuts and plans the best route to go to. Whether software and apps or the lived experience of mobility in Peru, an effective user experience entails visualization of the terrain, anticipating challenges and obstacles, and subsequently developing a human-centered path forward with flexibility and/or in partnership!
