The Value of User Stories to Agile Modeling

Well-written User Stories are a core component of Agile Development. User Stories are always a challenging stage for Agile project teams, and for success of any new project this needs to be managed properly.

There are no standard processes defined for the development of the User Story. Below we describe a method for exploring and capturing the User Wish and generating User Stories using ConceptDraw MINDMAP.

ConceptDraw MINDMAP — Exploring the User Wishes by using a Mind Map

A User Story is a portion of the User Wish. Using a mind map is a very effective way to capture a user's requirement in a visual format. A mind map can be effectively used as a story card, and is an excellent way to view the User Story and be able to drill down to any level of detail that is required.

Figure 1: Exploring User Wishes with ConceptDraw MINDMAP.

Figure 1 is a sample mind map prepared for a user interaction to capture the user wish. The example, we have selected is for the implementation of a new “Online store system development” project. The map contains questions to ask the end users.

The questions that are going to be asked are:

What is the potential set of customers who will be happy with this system and why?

This question captures information that pertains to the system's stakeholders, their values, their current problems, context and their expectations. These are essential success factors and risk drivers behind requirements need to be captured.

Who will use the system?

This question captures the appropriate audience for the system that will be developed.

When do they use the system?

This captures the system's story.

What other systems have a necessity to communicate with the system being developed?

This question captures other systems outside the system that have a necessity to work with the system being developed.

What information do you want to manage in the system?

This question captures usability and security requirements.

Backlog.

This is a place holder for items you cannot find answers to during the session and the schedule for development of the next user stories.

The User Story should be a well structured definition of the user's requirement so that the development team can estimate the step-by step efforts required to implement. ConceptDraw MINDMAP can provide developer's team with a way to explore user requirements, to capture their wishes in an intelligible and quick fashion. ConceptDraw MINDMAP allows you to quickly create and edit structured map of users requirements using keyboard only:

• Rapidly create a new mind map document.
• Navigate mind map using keyboard only.
• Edit map structure using keyboard only.

Summary

Mind maps present a strong benefit to the process when capturing the context of the user's wishes. The relationships, symbols, notes and other properties of ConceptDraw MINDMAP mind map help the developers capture the situation.

Related resources

Read How to:

• How to Save One Click on Map Creation.
• Pass through a Map Using Keyboard Only.
• Edit a Map Structure Using Keyboard Only.

Download Samples used in this article:

• “User Wishes” mind map (use ConceptDraw MINDMAP to open it).