Step 5
Define the Functionality
1. Create a product backlog of user stories
Define the functionality you want your product to have by making a complete list of all user stories, or features, that you would like to see built. You are the product owner, and this list will become your product backlog.
A) What is a user story?
A user story is a short and simple description of a feature told from the point of view of the person who desires this functionality, usually a user.
It typically follows a simple template:
“As a <type of user>, I want <some goal> so that <some reason>.”
With each user story you should also describe the acceptance criteria that will determine if this functionality was implemented correctly by the developer(s).
B) A product backlog template and example
Here is a snippet of what a product backlog could look like for a mentorship app:
PRODUCT BACKLOG SAMPLE
ID
As a/an
I want…
so that…
Notes
Acceptance Criteria
0
product owner
to have a universal app
the app works on both iPhone and iPad
The devices we plan to support include iPhone 7, 8, and X models and the iPad 3, 4, air, mini, and pro models.
1
mentor/ mentee
to login to the app securely
I have access to the app and no one else can see my data
LinkedIn login
The user must be able to login with their LinkedIn credentials. Once a user logs in they should remain logged in even after closing and reopening the app.
2
mentor/ mentee
to have a profile created for me
other people can view my professional information
The profile should be automatically created when the user logs in for the first time by querying the LinkedIn profile details.
Upon logging in for the first time, the user’s profile must be automatically created with the following info: picture, name, headline, location, industry, professional summary, positions.
3
mentee
to search for other users
I can find a user that seems like they will be a good mentor for me
The user profile attributes which are searchable are (in order of precedence): (1) name, (2) title, (3) location, (4) organization
…
2. Decide the features for your MVP
Product development should be an iterative process. You start by building and releasing a minimal viable product (MVP), you then gather data and feedback from your users using Google Analytics and surveys about what is working and what is not working with your product. Then you can add, modify, and remove features based on what you’ve learned. This forms the product development and enhancement loop.
The key idea is to start with a minimal viable product. This means you start with the minimum feature set, or user stories, that realizes your product vision, without bloating your product, your budget, or your schedule.
There is a principle called the 80/20 rule which states that 80% of your users will only use 20% of your product. The idea with building an MVP is to start by trying to develop the 20% of the features that 80% of your users will use. This will accelerate your your time to launch and learning feedback loop, while reducing your costs and efforts wasted.
Go through your product backlog and figure out the minimum set of features to include in your MVP.
Click next when you are done…