user-story-mapping

$2a

Story Map Structure

Segment → Persona → Narrative (User's goal)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Activity 1] → [Activity 2] → [Activity 3] → [Activity 4] → [Activity 5]

     ↓              ↓              ↓              ↓              ↓

  [Step 1.1]     [Step 2.1]     [Step 3.1]     [Step 4.1]     [Step 5.1]

  [Step 1.2]     [Step 2.2]     [Step 3.2]     [Step 4.2]     [Step 5.2]

  [Step 1.3]     [Step 2.3]     [Step 3.3]     [Step 4.3]     [Step 5.3]

     ↓              ↓              ↓              ↓              ↓

  [Task 1.1.1]   [Task 2.1.1]   [Task 3.1.1]   [Task 4.1.1]   [Task 5.1.1]

  [Task 1.1.2]   [Task 2.1.2]   [Task 3.1.2]   [Task 4.1.2]   [Task 5.1.2]

  [Task 1.1.3]   [Task 2.1.3]   [Task 3.1.3]   [Task 4.1.3]   [Task 5.1.3]

  ...            ...            ...            ...            ...

Why This Works

• User-centric: Organizes work around user goals, not engineering modules

• Shared understanding: Product, design, engineering all see the same journey

• Prioritization clarity: Top tasks = MVP, lower tasks = future iterations

• Gap identification: Missing steps or tasks become obvious

• Release planning: Draw horizontal "release lines" to define scope

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• Not a Gantt chart: This isn't project management—it's user journey visualization

• Not a feature list: Activities aren't features—they're user behaviors

• Not static: Story maps evolve as you learn more about users

When to Use This

• Kicking off a new product or major feature

• Aligning stakeholders on user workflow

• Prioritizing backlog based on user needs

• Identifying MVP vs. future releases

• Onboarding new team members to the product vision

When NOT to Use This

• For trivial features (don't map what you already understand)

• When user workflows are constantly changing (map stabilizes workflows)

• As a replacement for user stories (the map informs stories, doesn't replace them)

Application

Step 1: Define the Context

Use template.md for the full fill-in structure.

#### Segment

Who are you building for?

### Segment:

- [Specify the target segment, e.g., "Small business owners using DIY accounting software"]

Quality checks:

• Specific: Not "users" but "enterprise IT admins" or "freelance designers"

#### Persona

Provide details about the persona within this segment (reference skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md).

### Persona:

- [Describe the persona: demographics, behaviors, pains, goals]

Example:

• "Sarah, 35-year-old freelance graphic designer, manages 5-10 client projects at once, struggles with invoicing and payment tracking, wants to spend less time on admin and more time designing"

Step 2: Define the Narrative

What is the user trying to accomplish? Frame this as a Jobs-to-be-Done statement (reference skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md).

### Narrative:

- [Concise narrative of the persona's objective, e.g., "Complete a client project from kickoff to final payment"]

Quality checks:

• Outcome-focused: Not "use the product" but "deliver a client project on time and get paid"

• One sentence: If it takes more than one sentence, the scope may be too broad

Step 3: Identify Activities (Backbone)

List 3-5 high-level activities the persona engages in to fulfill the narrative. These form the backbone of your map.

### Activities:

1. [Activity 1, e.g., "Negotiate project scope and pricing"]

2. [Activity 2, e.g., "Execute design work"]

3. [Activity 3, e.g., "Deliver final assets to client"]

4. [Activity 4, e.g., "Send invoice and receive payment"]

5. [Activity 5, optional]

Quality checks:

• Sequential: Activities happen in order (left-to-right)

• User actions: Describe what the user does, not what the product provides

• 3-5 activities: Too few = oversimplified, too many = overwhelming

Step 4: Break Activities into Steps

For each activity, list 3-5 steps that detail how the activity is carried out.

### Steps:

**For Activity 1: [Activity Name]**

- Step 1: [Detail step 1, e.g., "Review client brief"]

- Step 2: [Detail step 2, e.g., "Draft project proposal"]

- Step 3: [Detail step 3, e.g., "Negotiate timeline and budget"]

- Step 4: [Optional step 4]

- Step 5: [Optional step 5]

**For Activity 2: [Activity Name]**

- Step 1: [Detail step 1]

- Step 2: [Detail step 2]

...

Quality checks:

• Actionable: Each step is something the user does

• Observable: You could watch someone perform this step

• Logical sequence: Steps follow a natural order

Step 5: Break Steps into Tasks

For each step, list 5-7 tasks that must be completed.

### Tasks:

**For Activity 1, Step 1: [Step Name]**

- Task 1: [Detail task 1, e.g., "Read client brief document"]

- Task 2: [Detail task 2, e.g., "Identify key deliverables"]

- Task 3: [Detail task 3, e.g., "Note budget constraints"]

- Task 4: [Detail task 4, e.g., "Clarify timeline expectations"]

- Task 5: [Detail task 5, e.g., "List open questions for client"]

- Task 6: [Optional task 6]

- Task 7: [Optional task 7]

**For Activity 1, Step 2: [Step Name]**

- Task 1: [Detail task 1]

...

Quality checks:

• Granular: Tasks are small, specific actions

• User-facing or behind-the-scenes: Include both (e.g., "Send email" and "Receive confirmation")

• Prioritizable: You'll prioritize tasks vertically (top = essential, bottom = nice-to-have)

Step 6: Prioritize Vertically

Arrange tasks top-to-bottom by priority:

• Top rows: MVP / Release 1 (must-have)

• Middle rows: Release 2 (important but not critical)

• Bottom rows: Future / Nice-to-have

Draw horizontal "release lines" to demarcate scope.

Step 7: Identify Gaps and Opportunities

Review the map and ask:

• Are there missing steps or tasks?

• Are there pain points we're not addressing?

• Are there opportunities to delight users?

• Do all activities flow logically?

Examples

See examples/sample.md for a full story map example.

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Activities Are Features, Not User Behaviors

Symptom: "Activity 1: Use the dashboard. Activity 2: Generate reports."

Consequence: You've mapped the product, not the user journey.

Fix: Reframe as user actions: "Activity 1: Monitor project progress. Activity 2: Summarize work for stakeholders."

Pitfall 2: Too Many Activities

Symptom: 10+ activities across the backbone

Consequence: Map becomes overwhelming and loses focus.

Fix: Consolidate. If you have 10 activities, you're likely mixing activities with steps. Aim for 3-5 high-level activities.

Pitfall 3: Tasks Are Too Vague

Symptom: "Task 1: Do the thing"

Consequence: Can't prioritize or estimate vague tasks.

Fix: Be specific: "Task 1: Enter client email address in the 'Bill To' field."

Pitfall 4: Ignoring Vertical Prioritization

Symptom: All tasks at the same level—no MVP vs. future releases defined

Consequence: No clarity on what to build first.

Fix: Explicitly prioritize. Draw release lines. Force hard choices about what's MVP.

Pitfall 5: Mapping in Isolation

Symptom: PM creates the map alone, then presents it to the team

Consequence: No shared ownership or understanding.

Fix: Map collaboratively. Run a story mapping workshop with product, design, and engineering.

References

Related Skills

• skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md — Defines the persona for the story map

• skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md — Informs the narrative and activities

• skills/user-story/SKILL.md — Tasks from the map become user stories

• skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md — Problem statement frames the narrative

External Frameworks

• Jeff Patton, User Story Mapping (2014) — Origin of the story mapping technique

• Teresa Torres, Continuous Discovery Habits (2021) — Opportunity solution trees (complementary to story maps)

Dean's Work

• User Story Mapping Prompt (adapted from Jeff Patton's methodology)

Provenance

• Adapted from prompts/user-story-mapping.md in the https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-prompts repo.

Skill type: Component

Suggested filename: user-story-mapping.md

Suggested placement: /skills/components/

Dependencies: References skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md, skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md, skills/user-story/SKILL.md, skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md