Using the Vision Storyboard to keep teams aligned and focused — Part 2
To continue the previous article, I will show you how to create a problem and vision story step by step. You can use this Figma Template(Vision Storyboard Tool Kit) to create one; please feel free to make a copy.
Now, let's get started.
6 Steps to create a vision storyboard
Step 1: Introducing characters. Add your cast to the left side of the board. And you need to decide who the main character is and who the supporting cast is for your story.
Behind the scenes of the first step, the casting should be based on your user interview/research, and the character should be based on the personas you created for the product.
Step 2: Add six boxes to the board because you want your story to be concise and easy to digest.
Behind the sense of step 2, we need six boxes based on Miller's Rule, which is a cognitive psychology principle that states that the average person can only hold about 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory at a time. This is also known as the "magic number 7".
Step 3: Write down the pitfall of the problem story, and make sure to use less than seven words. You know the "magic number."
Behind the scenes of step 3, the pitfall is coming from our user research. We should understand our user's top pain points and which pain points are worth solving, which should be based on the journey map.
Step 4: Write down the background or context. As with any movie or novel, you need to set up a good backstory to bring your audience up to speed.
Step 5: Write down the rest of the story. A vital thing to remember is to add the story's highlight somewhere in the middle. We usually call it the climax.
Behind the scenes of step 5, the typical structure of a good story looks like the chart below. The story begins with a good background story(a poor knight struggling in life), and then the main character rises to a challenge(accepts a mission), which usually leads to the climax of the whole story(fighting a dragon), and then either ends up with a pitfall(Tragedically dead) or a happy ending(saved the kingdom)
Step 6: Bring the story to life with your magic. To make this step easier for a designer like me who is not good at drawing or wants to make a storyboard a bit faster. I made this storytelling toolbox template in Figma. Feel free to check it out.
Now, let's look at the vision story. As a problem story is focused on describing the user's problem they experience today, the vision story is focused on picturing a day of the user's life in the future.
The structure of the vision story is similar to the problem story, and the content is different. In the vision story, you need to include a highlight as the story's climax and give it a happy ending so the user achieves the end goal.
Below is an example of a vision story
Things to avoid
Here are some things you should avoid when creating a vision storyboard.
Lack of emotion: Emotion is a key aspect of storytelling and also the key element of building customer empathy. Below is an example of what a lack of emotion storyboard looks like. 😱
Turn it into a lo-fi mockup: As a designer, it's very attempting to create screens, but remember, you have plenty of time to do that later. Now, you must force yourself to use as little UI as possible.
Cover all the edge cases: We are used to writing product specs and creating fully functional prototypes. Naturally, you want to include all the edge cases. Remember that you should only have the one frustrating the users the most.
Adding too many details: Similar to the point above, keeping the story on a higher level is necessary. Even you know all the details between scenes number one and number two. You shouldn't include them.
Just use Journey Map: I see many designers, including myself, trying to use the journey map as a storytelling tool. It includes similar elements that a storyboard has, like the user's emotions, highlights and pitfalls. However, a journey map is built for a different goal. It's a user research tool and very much data-driven. So many details need to be included in the Journey Map, which will distract your audience and get into the weeds.
Use as public-facing marking material: You shouldn't show a storyboard to an actual customer because they don't have the context we have, like the product strategy and vision we shared internally. The customer might get confused and feel unrelated to your problem story.
No real data backup: The problem story is the generalization of the real-world cases, and we should always be able to refer to the actual interview recording or user tickets.
Creating a vision storyboard is an effective way to unify your product team. You can also use other tools, such as a video demo or a future-release article, to achieve the same goal. The key is establishing a clear vision and ensuring everyone on your team understands it. If you have similar experiences or alternative methods for demonstrating a product vision, please feel free to share in the comments. Enjoy!
PS: If you are curious about the integration I refer to in the storyboard example, you can check out this link for the released product.
