User Stories: Three Steps to Better Presentations

August 27, 2008 by Peter Stevens

As a Scrum Coach, I often take on the role of Evangelist. Monday afternoon, I explained Scrum to the Swiss Java User Group[1]. Although not my first such talk, I had to completely rewrite the presentation. When this was 80% done, the realization hit me: How will I know if the "users" are getting what they need? Why am I not writing user stories?

Why didn't I think of this sooner?

The process is simple: identify the users, figure out what they want to accomplish and why. Give them what they need to accomplish their most important goals. If you can meet their needs even before they are even aware of them, magic happens.

Step 1: Who is coming to the event?

First I brainstormed about who might come. Then I shortened the list based on the probable attendees:

• Java Developers and Project Managers — The majority.
• The Speaker
• Early adopters — the people who will go back to the office and say 'let's do Scrum'
• Skeptics and happy users of other methods — who will say, "what we're doing now is good.'
• Human beings with needs beyond software — i.e. everyone!

Who got optimized out? I felt there wouldn't be enough managers or potential product owners present to justify emphasizing their stories. Various categories of people with potentially adversarial tendencies got consolidated into "Skeptics."

Step 2: What do these people want, and why?

The next step was to figure out what these people want and why. Their goals are a good place to start. For example, the early adopter: "I am looking for interesting new ideas to try out."

So I went through the list of people and thought about what each one wanted. I generated a lot of stories. For instance, "As a software developer, I want to know how my job will be impacted, so I can decide whether Scrum is good for me." That one was not so obvious at the beginning. I added a slide to answer this question.

Step 3: Consolidate and Prioritize

The talk ran from 17:30 to 18:30, plus an hour for discussion. Of course, I had more stories than time, so I had to shorten the list:

• As a project manager or software developer, I want to
  • understand the Scrum process
  • assess the Scrum's impact on my job
• As a project manager, I want to understand Scrum planning and control
• As an early adopter I want
  • to know what is special about Scrum
  • credible road maps for introducing Scrum
• As a skeptic, I want to be treated with respect
• As a Java developer, I want to hear examples based on Java Projects
• As the Speaker, I want good feedback about the talk.
• As a human being, I'd like a brownie before we start the talk.

Any surprises here? Actually, most of the stories were unexpected because I had only thought seriously about potential Scrum Masters! Early Adopters are the target audience. Skeptics are potential adversaries, not to be antagonized! Developers might be worried about the impact on their careers. Maybe those brownies will help people maintain their attention to the end.

Although this analysis started out as an example for one slide, it caused many changes to the presentation. I created a new feedback form (based on the Kano model), and ordered brownies for everybody.
What stories didn't make the cut? There are no slides about scaling Scrum or Java examples. Topics of interest for the Product Owner got held to a minimum, and the story on "assessing the impact of Scrum on my career" got deferred to the discussion round.

The Power of User Stories

User stories aren't just for software! User stories are about products: something you make or do for other people. The better you can get inside your user's heads and recognize their true needs, the better the acceptance of your products. Try it the next time you have to give a talk, write some documentation, or even a request for proposals. The results may surprise you!

Notes

[1] The presentation is available online.

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