Empowering Agile Development: Unveiling the Superpowers of StoryMapper

I would like to discuss my work and the product that helps me to perform it efficiently - StoryMapper. It is a tool that allows me to work with user story mapping and BDD techniques, and it has some incredible features that I would call "superpowers." We created StoryMapper because existing products didn't align with our vision for the development process and its control. There are many tools for different stages of development, but it leads to inconsistencies in knowledge stored in separate systems and complicates process control. Additionally, supporting multiple tools requires more resources. We had the vision to create a tool that could change the way we plan, develop requirements, and ensure product quality using the best agile techniques: User story mapping, BDD, Specification by Example. And we did just that with StoryMapper. But what truly sets it apart is that we use it ourselves - we "Eat Our Own Dog Food." I'm thrilled to be a part of a team that's not just creating amazing solutions, but also leading the way in using them.

Our Process

Our approach to working with clients is centered around the belief that our responsibility is not just to write software, but to truly assist the client in understanding their objectives and accomplishing them. To achieve this, we employ impact mapping techniques to study and define project goals and the paths to their realization, based on discussions with the client. We also examine the personas that could influence the achievement of these goals. Then, based on the insights gathered, we create a user story map using StoryMapper. For each persona, we make a card that describes their capabilities and influence. We also determine a set of stories available for execution for each role (as shown in Fig.1).

Figure 1. Role mode of user story map

Also, the map has an additional view that displays the relationship between the system's target functions, user stories, and requirements. This view consists of three levels (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Flow mode of User story map

At the highest level, the Usage Flow represents the core product use cases that bring significant value to the business.

The User Activity level provides a clear view of the actions that users take to execute a particular business function.The sequence of user activities is a kind of Customer Journey Map (CJM). It immediately clarifies whether the user can perform the desired actions.

Each User Activity consists of a set of User Stories (US) - various ways in which a user can perform the specified activity. Each User Story, in turn, consists of "acceptance criteria" and scenarios that implement it. But more on that later.

The user story map helps in capturing requirements, planning development, and prioritizing tasks to meet customer needs. With this map, we can focus on what needs to be done first and what can be postponed, ultimately helping us create better products and services for our customers.

We describe User Stories in the format:

As <role> I want to <action> so that <benefit>.

Stories are described based on collaborative discussions involving the product owner, PM, QA, business analysts, and developers.

Once the stories are defined, the team prioritizes them and identifies the MVP and subsequent releases. Each release is created as a separate branch in the project and the entire map with stories is stored in GIT, which allows to track changes and reverting to previous requirements if necessary.

It is easy to switch between releases in the project (Fig. 3) and see progress on each one.

After planning a release, we define a set of "acceptance criteria" (AC) for each story in that release. These criteria are also clarified and discussed by several team members, including BA or PO, QA, and developers.

Fig. 3 Acceptance criteria and scenarios in the user story card

After agreeing upon all the user stories and acceptance criteria, I proceed to create scenarios for each acceptance criterion in the form of GIVEN-WHEN-THEN using the Gherkin language (Fig. 3, 4). These scenarios are brief, clear, and easily understandable by all team members, including the customer who may not be familiar with Gherkin.

Fig. 4 Example of Gherkin scenario

Development begins when the acceptance criteria for the story are outlined, but sometimes scenarios are already written. When a developer receives a task for development, it typically contains only a brief description and a reference to the acceptance criteria for a certain user story.

Gherkin scenarios are used for automated tests, and Storymapper has a basic set of steps that are already automated. If you describe scenarios using these steps, then automated tests are created. If there are any steps that are not yet implemented, they can be easily added to the existing library and used further.

Storymapper's Superpowers

• Testing

StoryMapper also has its own testing system for executing automated tests. The test results are output in the form of a report, as well as on the map (Fig. 5). This gives developers a clear understanding of the current requirements and helps them ensure the quality of their work.

Fig. 5 Test results on the user story map

By generating reports, the entire team can easily monitor the progress of development (Fig. 6).

Fig.6 Report with Test Results

The report provides information on the number of implemented and not yet implemented scenarios, the number of tests executed without errors, the number of tests with errors, and the number of manual tests conducted.

Fig. 7 The correlation between test execution and categorization of error criticality

This information also allows clients to track the progress of development. Managers can use the report to identify problems and quickly react to them, taking necessary steps to help the team change processes and achieve the desired results (Fig.7).

Throughout the testing process, each step of the automated test is recorded in a screenshot. These screenshots are then used to create a video instruction that demonstrates how to execute the test scenario. This approach provides a comprehensive understanding of any errors that may occur (Fig. 8), as well as a practical, user-friendly video guide for performing various actions.

Fig. 8 Detailing error report for each scenario.

• Tasks in Jira

We have established a connection with tasks in Jira. From a task, you can navigate to Storymapper, and from Storymapper, you can open the corresponding task in Jira using the task number link (Fig. 9, 10).

Fig. 9 Release numbers and associated tasks are added to scenarios as tags.

This allows you to see who was working on it (requirements description and development) and view the corresponding commits. This way, you can easily track the alignment between requirements and code, especially if there is a need for future functional changes.

Fig. 10 Example task in Jira

• Documentation as code

And now, another superpower of Storymapper. The scenarios in each User Story serve as a kind of documentation for the project and the product. They are simultaneously requirements, test cases, and instructions for users on how to perform certain actions. Therefore, if there is a need to quickly write instructions, once again, we can generate them in HTML format (Fig. 11) or directly to view the instructions in StoryMapper (Fig. 12).

Fig. 11 Viewing user story in the form of a downloaded HTML file

Fig. 12 Viewing user story with instructions in Storymapper

• Searching for relevant user stories

When a Business Analyst (BA) is assigned a new task by clients, their first step is to search for relevant knowledge in the existing project. This can be a challenging task, especially for larger projects with more than 15-20 user stories. The BA must research the new problem and create new requirements for developers. All requirements must be documented in StoryMapper. The BA needs to analyze each new task to see if it can be related to an existing scenario or User Story. This helps to decide whether to create a new User Story, a new scenario within an existing User Story or modify existing scenarios.

To prevent oversights, especially in situations where multiple business analysts are involved in the project or when a new team member joins, a system has been devised to detect matches between tasks and existing cards on the map. Business analysts can simply describe the task or requirement, and they will receive a list of relevant cards (Fig. 13).

Fig. 13. List of relevant user stories

User Story Map is a visual representation of a project's business logic. It effectively demonstrates the connection between the project's overarching goals and specific user stories, ultimately leading to the code that programmers are supposed to write (Fig. 14).

Fig.14 Example of Userstory Map

The main StoryMapper's superpower is to accelerate the onboarding process for new team members.  According to our estimates, it can reduce the onboarding time from several months to just a couple of weeks. This is because a new business analyst, manager, or programmer can understand the project's logic from day one, without having to go through extensive documentation (which is why many people don't read documentation — it's just inconvenient). In StoryMapper we've created a visual working tool and changed the approach to documentation. It's impossible not to engage with it — you work with it live and can immediately see the state of the entire project, and different parts that are described and those that are not.

Our company is always looking for ways to improve our processes and enhance collaboration within our development team. StoryMapper has been a great tool for us in achieving this goal. It allows us to share important information and work together efficiently.

Additionally, it simplifies communication with our clients, as they can access up-to-date project information at their convenience.

We are excited to announce that we are launching a demo version of StoryMapper for our partners. If you are interested in trying it out, please schedule a convenient time with us. We would love to discuss how StoryMapper can benefit your team and enhance your workflow.

https://calendly.com/olgazhuravleva/30min

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