User Story Mapping

Read This First

This book has no introduction.

Yes, you read that right. Now, you might immediately ask yourself, “Why doesn’t Jeff’s book have an introduction? Did he forget to write it? Is he beginning to slip after all these years?! Did the dog eat it?”

No, I didn’t forget to write an introduction to this book. And, no, I’m not beginning to slip. At least I don’t think I am. And my dog didn’t eat it (although my daughter’s guinea pig looks suspicious). It’s just that I’ve long believed that authors spend too much time convincing me I should read their book, and a great deal of that convincing lives in the introduction. The meat of most books usually doesn’t start until Chapter 3. And I’m sure it’s not only me who does this, but I usually skip the introduction.

This book actually starts here.

And you’re not allowed to skip this because it really is the most important part. In fact, if you only get two points from this book, I’ll be happy. And those two points are right here in this chapter:

• The goal of using stories isn’t to write better stories.
• The goal of product development isn’t to make products.

Let me explain.

The Telephone Game

I’m sure you remember when you were a kid and you played this weird “telephone game” where you whispered something to somebody, who whispered it to someone else, and so on around the group, until the last person reveals the totally garbled message and everyone laughs. Today, my family still plays this game at home with my kids around the dinner table. ...