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when they have finished the primary scenarios of use, they can look across their story-
boards and optimize how the system hangs together as a product offering. Only then do
they worry about how to structure the product appropriately for each platform. Optimizing
an interface for one scenario will not yield an optimized system or suite of apps, so it's es-
sential to get the practice right before settling on any system or UI structure.
Theprocessofstoryboardingkeepstheteamhonestandthedesignclean.Guidedbythe
affinitydiagram andconsolidated models,theproductconcepts aremaderealinthesestor-
ies. Storyboards ensure that the team does not overlook any intents or steps that are critical
to the users' practice. Even when the design changes the practice, designers have to think
through the details of how it will be changed to ensure that the new approach works and
adoption is easy. The consolidated field data and Contextual Design models help focus the
team on the world they are designing for so they can get real about what they are doing to
the user.
Storyboardsfleshouttheproductconceptsbygroundingtheminthestoriesandmotives
ofusers'lives.Theyareguidedbytheconsolidatedmodels,whichdescribehowusershave
different identities, relationships, patterns of life, and collaboration styles—all of which
need to be accounted for in the storyboards. If different users approach a task different
ways,astoryboardiscreatedforeachdifferentwaytoshowhowthenewproductwillwork
in that situation. The team uses the storyboards to invent the right function and the right
product structure to support each user situation.
Separatestoryboardsarecreatedforeachmaintaskandeachmainusersituation.Ateam
might start with a “happy path” storyboard showing the user doing the task in the simple
case where everything works, designing places and functions as they are needed. They fol-
low the Day-In-Life model scenario showing the how the product will support the activity
when the work starts at home, is interrupted, continues during the user's commute on their
mobile device, and is finished during a break at work—reflecting how people use devices
now. They draw storyboard cells showing manual steps, rough user interface components,
movement through the world, app and device use, and system activity and automation.
But then the team needs to create a range of storyboards to explore the dif-ferent issues
importanttothisparticulardesign.Soafterthe“happypath”case,theydovariantsshowing
differentproblemsanddifficultusersituationsfoundinthedata.Theteamusesstoryboards
to explore design for different platforms: how the activities of the task to be supported will
beaccessedthroughdifferentplatforms,whattoprovideoneachplatform,andhowtokeep
the activity coherent across devices. The team designs for time, how useful things will get
doneinmoments,andforrelationships,supportingmeaningfulconnectioninthecontextof
the activity at hand. Overall, the team generates the key scenarios they must walk through
to have a complete design—all guided by the user data.
