Before thinking about screens, interactions, or UI, I needed to ground the experience in real human motivation. I’ve already analyzed the survey data and distilled it into empathy maps and personas — this phase is about translating that empathy into action.
User stories force me to think in practical terms:
“What does this person want, and what needs to happen so they don’t drop off?”
They’re not about features. They’re about intent.
I already had three strong personas: Clara, Daniel and Aisha — each at different stages and from different markets. So the challenge here wasn’t inventing use cases, it was refining their intent into simple, actionable stories.
The format ("As a / I want to / So that") felt useful, but sometimes too rigid. I found myself writing more nuanced thoughts first, then distilling them into cleaner lines.
Doubt:
“How much should I talk about the product itself (the configurator), vs the mindset of the user?”
I decided to focus on decision-making behavior and UX needs, not specific UIs. These will inform both flows and friction points later on.
Also, I wanted to keep conversion goals in mind — but not force every story to end in a purchase. Some people (like Leo or Aisha) aren’t ready, and that’s valid. Respecting that intent is part of designing smarter.
Each story carried a hidden UX principle: