User Stories & User Journey Maps

 Hello readers👋 Today we will learn about one of the most interesting concepts of Product Management. I had talked about it in my previous blog as well, so if you have not read that do read it, you'll understand the terms more clearly.

Link - Agile Methodology

A User Story is a brief description of a feature/ a product requirement that a user needs and how they can be met, written with the end user's perspective. Before writing a user story, we must know for/as whom (user persona) are we writing the user story. Empathy is also a key element while writing a user story. 

• Context and benefits are described
• Non-technical language
• Key tool for Agile and UI design
• Collaboration and creativity is present
• Better product delivery
• The team knows the what and why of the product

Example - As a Uber Passenger I want to see several available drivers in my area So that I can choose the closest one to me.

Benefit of User Story -

• Helps in breakdown of the process into smaller incremental segments for sprints and iterations
• In Scrum User stories are added to the sprint backlog and thus added to the sprint. 
• Used to estimate, prioritize and plan sprints leading to agility 
• In Kanban, User stories help to manage the work in progress limitation and keeps the team on track.
• Focus on the user and the business value.
• Product becomes more manageable
• Collaboration and creativity in the team is enhanced. Small wins for the team motivates them to work harder. 

Good User Story Criteria -

User Story Template - 

As a ... [user/persona]

I want to ... [action/task]

So that ... [benefit]

When I ... [action]

This happens ... [outcome]

Epic - It is a very big user story which cannot be iterated in one sprint. Thus, an epic is broken down into what we read - a user stories (which are closely associated with one another)

Story Points - These are related to user stories and are not measurable. When we talk about them we mainly take into account the amount of work required, the level of complexity of that work, the risk/uncertainty level present in the work. 

Customer Journey Mapping/ User Journey Maps

Free templates - Link

Customer Journey Maps are visual representations of a customer's experience with a company that provides an understanding into the needs and concerns of the customers which directly motivate/inhibit their actions. 

It is the path a prospect takes on the way to become a permanent buyer of the product.

There are 3 stages in customer journey maps - 

1. Awareness Stage
2. Consideration Stage
3. Decision Stage
4. Delight Stage (a post sale service)

Benefits of Customer Journey Maps - 

• Helps to understand customer experience
• Check on the modification of features if any
• Keep the customer's happy which enables business growth

Types of Customer Journey Maps -

• Customer State Journey Map
• Future State Journey Map
• Day in the Life Journey Map
• Service Blueprint
• Persona based Journey Map
• Empathy Map
• Micro Moment Journey Map

Steps to create a Customer Journey Map -

1. Know your Customer/User
2. List the steps (awareness, consideration, purchase, after-purchase, loyalty)
3. Identify the touchpoints
4. Understand their feelings
5. Spot the problems/pain-points
6. Draw the map
7. Make improvements 

When you will look at different examples, the concept will get much clear - Link

Try to create a customer journey map for the onboarding process on an OTT app, for practice and you can send your answers in the comments! I will definitely provide my insights on your solution✌