The story-mapping approach introduces a fascinating way to challenge the traditional design process. Throughout my preparation for product manager interviews, I’ve trained myself to ideate products in terms of key features and success metrics. Each mock interview I completed consisted of scribbling notes on paper and attempting to outline them aloud. I rarely remembered my solutions after each mock interview, and it was difficult to find meaning in my notes. I believe it would have been more interesting to possibly sketch my solutions or record myself presenting the ideas. That way, I could experience my designs (ranging from refrigerators for children to smart bookshelves) in an exciting way that brings them to life.
Admittedly, the time crunch of a product manager interview can restrict your creative room. Sketches are great, but they may not be feasible in a 45-minute time slot. Looking back on my longer design experience in CS 147, we certainly incorporated story mapping into our project. Our team was designing an app to help people that menstruate, and we acted out an entire sequence of scenes demonstrating our use cases. In our short film, I pretended to be a student on the go who forgets to pack pads in her backpack and must locate the nearest bathroom with period products. To represent our app, a teammate of mine acted as a fairy godmother-like figure who magically appeared and directed me to the bathroom. The process of filming our product in action challenged us to picture how useful our app would be in the real world. These use cases became a lot more memorable once we had spent so much time planning, filming, and editing those scenes. Our project ended up winning an award for one of the best concept videos in the class! Both our team and the rest of our 200+ member class were better able to understand our product’s goals because we communicated our ideas in a novel, creative way.
