Agent skill · product strategy · deanpeters
user-story-mapping-workshop
Run a user story mapping workshop with adaptive questions and a structured map output. Use when you need backbone activities, tasks, and release slices for a workflow.
Why this skill is useful
Provides a structured framework for visualizing user workflows and priorities that the AI wouldn't generate on its own.
What it needs
About 9k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-07-17. 6,302 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Purpose Guide product managers through creating a user story map by asking adaptive questions about the system, users, workflow, and priorities—then generating a two-dimensional map with backbone (activities), user tasks, and release slices. Use this to move from flat backlogs to visual story maps that communicate the big picture, identify missing functionality, and enable meaningful release planning—avoiding "context-free mulch" where stories lose connection to the overall system narrative. This is not a backlog generator—it's a visual communication framework that organizes work by user workflow (horizontal) and priority (vertical). Input Works best with: The system or workflow to map. Also useful: The primary users, workflow steps you already know, and what the map must decide (MVP scope, release plan). Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask. Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The workshop opens by asking about the system and its users (Q1), then proceeds per the facilitation protocol. Example invocation: Run a story mapping workshop for our vendor onboarding portal — output should give us a first release slice. Key Concepts What is a User Story Map? A story map (Jeff Patton) organizes user stories in two dimensions: Horizontal axis (left to right): Activities arranged in narrative/workflow order—the sequence you'd use explaining the system to someone Vertical axis (top to bottom): Priority within each activity, with the most essential tasks at the top Structure: Key Principles The Backbone: Essential activities form the system's structural core—these aren't prioritized against each other; they're the narrative flow. Walking Skeleton: The highest-priority tasks across all activities form the minimal viable product—the smallest end-to-end functionality. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills deanpeters/user-story-mapping-workshop