Understand user stories

A user story is a fictional one-sentence story told from the point of view of a persona to inspire and inform design decisions.

It introduces the user, describes an obstacle, and states their goal. Don't be confused if you notice some designers refer to these as scenarios or user cases, they mean the same thing. Now let's look at the goal, structure, and benefits of user stories. The user story extends the persona and deepens the understanding of a user group. Here are some nice things a user story can do for you.

User stories prioritize design goals. If you've a lot of user needs to address, user stories can help you determine which needs need to be solved most urgently.

User stories unite the team around a clear goal. A good user story can also inspire insightful design decisions by making our approach user-centered, also known as user-centric

User stories personalize pitches for stakeholders. You're not just pitching your ideas for design updates. You're showcasing how it will help specific groups of people. User stories have a hero with an ultimate goal and a conflict that keeps him from achieving that goal.

As a type of user, I want to action, so that benefit.

Now we just need to fill in the missing pieces. The type of user describes who we're developing the product for. Action is what the user hopes will happen. And finally, benefit is why the user wants the action to happen. This formula keeps the problem user-centric, actionable, and clear.

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Consider edge cases

An edge case is a situation within a product that the product team thinks is unlikely or outside of the typical product flow. When you are trying to figure out what the edge cases are for your product, you really need to sit down with users and see what their real lives are like with your product.

With user stories, as with any story, there's always a chance that things will not go exactly the way you want them to, but you can always change the user experience.

As a UX designer, when developing a new or improved product, the designer's goal is to keep all users on a good path.

Often, what you think will happen when a user holds your app in their hands is not what actually happens. Identifying these cases is key to creating a harmonious experience when things do not go as you planned.

Here are a few tips on how to avoid them:

Create personas and user stories. If UX designers make sure their personas and user stories take into account a variety of users and issues, they can keep even the most vulnerable users on a good path.

Thoroughly review the project before launching. In the rush to launch a product, UX designers may focus only on the "happy path." A final review of the project from the user's perspective helps designers identify problem cases.

Always use wireframes. They will help you visualize the whole project, that way, you will be able identify edge cases and improve them.

Good design is all about attention to detail. It's that commitment to designing for each scenario that sets great experiences apart from average ones.

As a designer, make it your mission to plan for those edge cases. They will occur whether you design for them or not.