Stories and Scenarios

Scenarios

A scenario is a specific story that demonstrates how a specific user in a specific situation accomplishes some goal thanks to app
Key elements:
- characters
- conflict
- plot
- resolution

Uses of Scenarios

Type	Definition	Purpose
4-Panel	An illustrated example of using the envisioned app	Show customers / backers the idea. Provide developers with first slice
Demo	A live example of the app being used	Demonstrate feasiblity and value of app
User journey	A visualization of the steps a user takes to accomplish a goal	Design new app functionality
Acceptance test	Specific steps to do with the app, often automated	Test for done. Verify app functionality

User stories

A <person in user role> can <interact with the app> in order to <achieve a role goal>
- Agile Samurai, Chapter 6
"Interact with app" includes seeing some data as well as selecting or entering data.

User Story Examples

A shopper can add items to a list in order to remember what to buy when at the grocery store.
A parts vendor can upload a price list spreadsheet to update a catalog page to save data entry.
Some nice examples emphasizing roles and goals

About the name

Ironically:

User stories are not real stories. Real stories are a sequence of events with a beginning, middle, and end.
Good user stories don't use "user". That's too vague. Use roles like shopper, vendor, author, browser, etc.

Why stories are a better measure of progress

Method	Example	Focus
Code	add sort state and button to App.js	unit of developer effort
Feature	add sort by price	unit of product functionality
User story	add sort by price to find cheapest item	unit of user value
Which of these matters most?

The goal in a user story matters

Story: a shopper can sort products by price to find the cheapest one
Should the sort be ascending or descending?
Story: a shopper can sort products by rating to find the best one
Should the sort be ascending or descending?

User Story Pitfalls

Stories with no clear goal at all
Stories that don't end with user value (log in, fill in form)
Stories about a "user" when an app has several different kinds
Stories about coding (add db field, add button)
Big stories (epics)
Stories about UI details (dropdown, checkbox, swiping)

Common user story mistakes and how to avoid them

	Scenarios	User Stories
Story	Specific example from problem to payoff: A teacher at start of term uses app to form teams balanced by gender and coding skills	A single user action, no specific context professor can upload skill survey results to avoid extra data entry
Structure	Present or past tense sentence, specific details: John marks milks as purchased when checking out	"can" action, generic: professor can delete skill from list
Usage	Focus development on common important scenarios	Trackable unit of development progress

Align Scenario Details with Value

Scenario

It's 9pm, Thursday, May 15. Joe, a student on meal plan, working in Tech, needs a late meal. Opening nuFood, he sees that Foster East is the closest dining hall still open. He checks the menu to confirm he can get pizza.

9pm -- after many halls close
Thursday -- when halls have different closing times
May 15 -- test with menu data for this day
on meal plan -- target user
working in Tech -- a location to test "closest"
checks the menu -- goal of "user can see menus"

Thanks to Hakim El Hattab for the slide template