You’re very welcome Heloisa.

Hi Deep,

Thanks for sharing your question. There is nothing wrong with using use cases in an agile context. In fact, use cases are sometime preferable over user stories, as I discuss in the article “User Stories or Use Cases?“. If you wanted to capture the scenarios in a use case in form of user stories, you would create one or more stories for each success and exception scenario. You hence end up with several user stories instead of having one use case.

In addition to the functionality described in a use case, you would typically also capture the relationships between use cases, for example, by a system use case or activity diagram, in order to describe a workflow or user journey. If you work with user stories, you don’t have these diagrams available. This is where scenarios and storyboards come in, as described in the post. Alternatively, you can adjust the diagrams and use them with stories, as I explain in the article “User Story Modelling“.

Hope this helps!

Hi Mike, Thanks for sharing your question. A storyboard helps you depict a multi-step interaction between a user and a product. For example, when you shop online, you typically search for a product on a website like amazon.com, look at the product details (which may include reading reviews), then make a purchase decision, place the product in your basket and pay for it. Such an interaction can be happily captured in form of a storyboard.

Butf you have a simple, one step interaction, you may find a different technique, such as writing a user story, more helpful. For more info, see my article “User Stories are Not Enough for a Great User Experience“. Hope this helps!

I’ve been simply asked to replicate a report like for like in a new system. The format will be as close to identical as possible and the data analysts will manage the data side. For some reason, I’ve been asked to create a storyboard, which I’ve not used before and though I get the idea, I don’t get how it’s relevant to my scenario. Why would i create a storyboard, a visualisation of a sequence of steps (forgive me for putting it like this, but basically a process that the person or system goes through), when none of that is happening. It’s simple: here’s a chart in Excel, copy this format into your nw reporting system. Do you have any thoughts on this?

If you plan to make bigger changes to an existing product, I recommend revisiting the current strategy, identifying the changes required, and updating it accordingly. Then determine the key risks in your product strategy and address them (strategy validation). Next derive a product roadmap and show how the changes are likely to be implemented over the next, say, twelve months. Use the goal of the first major release on your roadmap to discover the right epics. I discuss this approach in more detail in my book Strategize. Good luck with the interview!

Thanks for the reference articles, I had read them previously but it was good to revisit.
Yes it is a product but not a new one. It needs revamping in terms of its capabilities with the objective towards driving ecommerce sales. Aiming to propose some high level requirements to kick off mock discussions with stakeholders. Would you still suggest starting with the strategy you’re vision board is a great tool), roadmap into epics, story boards and UI mocks? This is acually for a job an interview, so I’ve been asked not to spend more than a couple of hours the work is a prop for further discussions. Thanks in advance for your input!

Thanks for your feedback and question Sonu. Starting with epics, storyboards, and UI mockups sounds like a good idea to capture a new feature. I would suggest, though, that you ask yourself if live chat is a new feature or a new product, see my article “What is a Digital Product“.

If it is a new product, then I would first develop a valid product strategy and actionable product roadmap before detailing the solution.

I also recommend involving the key stakeholders early and regularly and preferably achieving consensus on the strategic product decisions.

Does this help?