Every project begins with an idea. Before it can be transformed into a tangible product or software solution, however, several questions must be answered. What are the company’s goals? What will the teams need later on? Which processes will be affected? How can the requirements be translated into actionable tasks?
Anyone who answers these questions in writing alone will quickly reach their limits. Information is scattered across various documents, and important connections may be overlooked. Mapping techniques can help you better structure your ideas. In this blog post, we’ll introduce four techniques that are particularly helpful in requirements engineering.
Which Mapping Techniques are Particularly Well-Suited to Requirements Engineering?
Mapping techniques serve different purposes. The most suitable method therefore depends on the specific problem at hand. In requirements engineering, the Business Model Canvas, Event Storming, Customer Journey Mapping, and Story Mapping are useful tools. These methods support key tasks in requirements analysis. These methods help understand business processes, identify user needs, and derive requirements in a structured manner.
| Mapping technique | Focus | |
|---|---|---|
| What business value is the product intended to deliver? | Business model canvas | Business model |
| What business processes and exceptions need to be taken into account? | Event storming | Business processes |
| Where do problems arise for users? | Customer journey | User Experience |
| What features are needed for the first version? | Story map | Product planning |
1. Visualizing Business Models with the Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a tool that helps teams visualize and refine their business models. Rather than wading through extensive business plans, teams can present the most important aspects of a business model in a clear, organized layout.
The Canvas consists of nine building blocks:
- Customer segments
- Value propositions
- Channels
- Customer relationships
- Revenue streams
- Key recources
- Key activities
- Key partners
- Cost structure
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a tool that helps teams visualize and refine their business models. Rather than wading through extensive business plans, teams can present the most important aspects of a business model in a clear, organized layout.
Where Ss the Business Model Canvas Used?
This mapping technique is ideal for developing new business models, analyzing existing offerings, and planning products strategically. The canvas can also play an important role in requirements engineering. Before requirements for a product or software are formulated, it is important to understand the intended business value of the end result. The Business Model Canvas helps adopt this perspective and align requirements with overarching business objectives.
2. Understanding Business Processes Together Using Event Storming
Event storming is a collaborative mapping technique used by teams to examine complex business processes. It was developed by Alberto Brandolini. The focus is on domain events, or events that have already occurred within a business process.
In software development, an example would be processing a change request. First, the change is reported, then evaluated from a business perspective, and prioritized. Next, it is assigned to a sprint, implemented, and tested. Finally, the change is released. In Event Storming, these events are arranged chronologically on a surface. Colored sticky notes are often used for this purpose. Additionally, information about the people involved, systems, commands, and other relevant details can be recorded.
The particular advantage of this method is that it brings together different subject matter perspectives. Business departments, development teams, and requirements engineers can jointly understand how a process actually unfolds.
It also highlights questions that are often overlooked in day-to-day operations:
- What happens if an event does not occur?
- Which systems are involved?
- Where are exceptions or delays occurring?
- What information is needed and when?
Where Is Event Storming Used?
Event Storming is particularly well-suited for developing software solutions because the mapping technique fosters a shared understanding of the business domain. Requirements can be derived directly from real-world processes. This is especially crucial when introducing new software or modernizing existing systems.
3. Adopting the User’s Perspective in the Customer Journey
A customer journey map illustrates a user’s experience with a product or service, examining the various touchpoints along the way. A customer journey may include the following phases:
- A person identifies a need.
- They research possible solutions.
- They choose a product.
- They use the product in their daily life.
- They evaluate their experience.
For each phase, the relevant touchpoints, expectations, emotions, and potential difficulties are documented. Together, these documents create a picture of how users actually experience a product. For example, a customer journey map can show that signing up for a software program is straightforward, but subsequent configuration raises many questions.
Where Is the Customer Journey Used?
When developing requirements from the user’s perspective, the customer journey provides a valuable foundation. It helps identify needs and problems that might be overlooked in a purely technical analysis.
For instance, consider the implementation of new project management software. The customer journey begins with researching the software and includes the selection and implementation phases. It extends through daily use. Various touchpoints can be considered along the way, such as the initial product presentation, setting up the software, training sessions, and contact with support.
4. Connecting Requirements Using the Story Map
The Story Map, also known as User Story Mapping, connects the user’s perspective with product planning. Jeff Patton pioneered the method. It centers on the question: What steps must users take to achieve their goal? Activities are first planned along an overarching workflow, with individual user stories listed beneath it.
For example, when developing new software for managing project requirements, the activities “Create Project,” “Capture Requirements,” and “Review Requirements” could be depicted in a story map. The specific steps and requirements are added below. The horizontal layout describes the workflow from the user’s perspective. Tasks can be structured vertically according to their importance or priority. This creates a shared view of the product. Teams can then identify which features belong together and which components are necessary for an initial usable version.
Where Is Story Mapping Used?
It is particularly well-suited for requirements analysis, prioritizing requirements, and planning releases. This method helps establish the connection between individual user stories and the overarching product goal. Rather than viewing a backlog as merely a long list of requirements, story mapping creates a structured representation of user activities. This facilitates coordination within the team and supports incremental product development.
Mapping Techniques Are Even More Effective When Used Together
These methods are not mutually exclusive; rather, they complement each other. For instance, a team can first use the Business Model Canvas to clarify business objectives. Then, they can analyze the relevant processes using Event Storming. A customer journey map reveals the user’s perspective, and a story map translates the insights gained into concrete requirements and work packages.
The key is to select the right method for the specific problem at hand. While these methods can complement each other, not every project requires all four techniques.
Conclusion
Mapping techniques are more than just a way to present information in an engaging way. However, they are most valuable when the results are not forgotten on a whiteboard or in workshop documentation. When concrete requirements, tasks, and decisions are derived from them, mapping techniques can contribute to the success of product development. After all, the better a team understands the interrelationships, the more effectively it can develop products or software solutions that meet business goals and user needs.