I believe that every great product begins with a great story.
However, during product development, many teams can easily become execution focused -- focusing on the "what" and "how" of their product and leaving the important "why" behind.
This presentation explores how we might apply principles from storytelling to our product development process to help us ensure the "why" is a constant as we development our products. I explore companies such as Square and Fab and also investigate the world of filmmaking, with great insights from Pixar, to provide examples of how we might put this into action.
www.sarahdoody.com
* Presentation was originally given at Asbury Agile on October 2, 2013 in Asbury Park, NJ.
Storytelling in Product Development: How Knowing Users' Stories Leads to Better Outcomes
1. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories 1
Storytelling in Product Development
Knowing your users & their stories
@sarahdoody
Sarah Doody
www.sarahdoody.com
sarah@sarahdoody.com
#storytellingUX
October 2, 2013
2. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Every great product starts
with a great story.
3. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
I’m a user experience designer.
But I realized that above all, I’m a storyteller.
4. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Neuroscience
of fact and fiction.
5. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Broca’s
area
Wernicke’s
area
Brain’s response to fact
6. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Broca’s
area
(language)
Wernicke’s
area
(language)
Brains response to fiction
Frontal
cortex
(emotion)
Motor cortex
(movement)
Sensory cortex
(sensation / touch)
Olfactory
cortex
(smell)
7. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Novels (stories) go beyond simulating
reality to give readers an experience
unavailable off the page:
the opportunity to enter fully into other
people’s thoughts and feelings.
From: Your Brain On Fiction by Annie Murphy Paul (New York Times)
8. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
The project that went wrong.
9. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Which header do you prefer?
Header A
Header B
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69
I had mail.
11. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
PRODUCT &
DESIGN
TECH BUSINESS
UX
12. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Telephone Game
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Observation
Far too often teams
focus on execution
before defining a
product opportunity or
value proposition.
14. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Symptoms
Product Team Users
• Scope creep
• Extended timeline
• Over budget
• Scope reduction
• Chasing tasks
• Burn out
• Declining passion
• Growing frustration
• Confusing ux
• Slow adoption
• No adoption
• No word of mouth
15. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
It doesn’t matter how good
your (engineering) team is if
they are not given something
worthwhile to build.
Marty Cagan
Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love
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Root Problem
We focus on the how
and what of a product,
letting why get left
behind.
17. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
what howwhy
Product Development Timeline
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what howwhy
solutionstory / problem
Product Development Timeline
19. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
If I had one hour to save the world I
would spend 45 minutes defining the
problem and only 5 minutes finding the
solution.
- Einstein
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why how
story
Product Development Timeline
what
solution
21. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
It all starts with storytelling.
22. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
What about personas
and user stories?
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Personas are polarizing.
24. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Users stories focus too much on
utility and not enough on the user.
25. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
As a
I want to
so that
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Stories that make us care
aren’t created by chance,
they are created by design.
Andrew Stanton
Director, Screenwriter, Producer at Pixar
From: TED Talk : The Clues To A Great Story by Andrew Stanton
27. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Good stories give you a promise that
they’re going to lead you somewhere
that’s worth your time.
A well told promise carries a story
through to the end.
Andrew Stanton
Director, Screenwriter, Producer at Pixar
28. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Good products give you a promise that
they’re going to lead you somewhere
that’s worth your time.
A well told promise carries a
customer (& team) through to the end.
29. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
How do you ensure your
product is rooted in a great
promise (story)?
30. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
CHARACTERS + CONTEXT + CONFLICT
Intro
Rising
Action
Climax
Falling
Action
Resolution
Story Structure
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Eat the audience
Story Principles: Characters
- Hillman Curtis
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By developing characters first,
the plot of your story will
emerge organically ...
From: Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey” by Scott Myers
- Scott Myers
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Case study:
Fact Check
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the square barista
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If you want to build a product
that’s relevant to people, you
need to put yourself in their
shoes. You need the write the
story from their side.
- Jack Dorsey
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Story Principles: Context
- Frank Gehry
Work from the inside
out.
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The functionality of
a single page
...
the
WHAT
38. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
WHAT + WHY
are they on this
page or screen?
HOW
did they get
here?
WHERE
are they going
next?
39. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Context forces us to zoom out
from a moment in time or
specific functionality so we can
understand someone’s greater
experience.
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We can’t assume context
because today, we’re
tethered to technology.
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Story Principles: Conflict (Cause)
- Jason Goldberg
What’s your one
thing?
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All well drawn characters have a
spine -- an inner motor, a dominant
unconscious goal that they’re
striving for, an itch that they can’t
scratch.
- Judith Weston, Acting coach
From: TED Talk : The Clues To A Great Story by Andrew Stanton
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Wall-E
Find the beauty.
Woody
Do what was best
for his child.
Marlin
Prevent harm.
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Cinderella
moments.
Everyone’s
private driver.
Daily design
inspiration
... smile.
45. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
What’s your one thing ...
your one conflict or
cause?
46. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
CHARACTERS + CONTEXT + CONFLICT
Intro
Rising
Action
Climax
Falling
Action
Resolution
Story Structure
47. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
Every great product starts
with a great story.
What’s yours?
48. Sarah Doody | Knowing your users & their stories
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