19 KiB
Module 08: Outline Scenarios
Lesson 2: From Trigger Map to Scenarios
How to identify which scenarios to create from your Trigger Map
The Missing Bridge
You've completed your Trigger Map (Module 06):
- Personas with driving forces
- Business goals prioritized
- Features connected to both
Now you're in Module 08: Outline Scenarios.
But which scenarios should you create?
This lesson bridges the gap. It shows you how to use your prioritized Trigger Map to identify the scenarios that matter most.
Strategic Context from the Trigger Map
Every scenario needs strategic context — the thread connecting business goals to user motivations through specific transactions, selected from your Trigger Map.
Business Goal → User Group → Driving Forces → Transaction → Scenario
Example:
BG01: 5,000 active teams
↓
Remote Team Leads (Persona: Harriet)
↓
Fear of burnout, desire for team awareness
↓
Create first pulse check
↓
S01-First-Pulse-Check-Setup
The strategic context answers:
- What's the most valuable transaction for our business?
- What are we offering that's valuable for the end user?
- How can we create a marriage between business goals and user driving forces?
- What would make both the business and the user happy?
The scenario is the shortest path to make everyone happy.
The Marriage Question
For each potential scenario, ask:
"What transaction would satisfy both this business goal AND this user's driving forces?"
This is the marriage between business value and user value.
| Business Wants | User Wants | Transaction (Scenario) |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 active teams | Quick team health check | First pulse check setup |
| Reduce churn | Avoid burnout | Schedule automated check-ins |
| Increase engagement | Team feels heard | Share pulse results with team |
| Premium subscriptions | Advanced insights | Unlock trend analysis |
Each row is a potential scenario.
The ones at the top (aligned with your highest-priority business goals and persona driving forces) become your first scenarios to design.
Identifying Your First Scenarios
Use your Trigger Map prioritization to identify scenarios:
Step 1: Start with Top Business Goal
Look at your Product Brief. What's your #1 business goal?
Example: BG01 - Get 5,000 active teams using the product
Step 2: Identify Most Important User Group
Which persona is most critical to achieving this goal?
Example: Remote Team Leads (Harriet)
Step 3: Connect to Top Driving Forces
What are this persona's strongest driving forces from your Trigger Map?
Example:
- Fear of team burnout
- Desire for team awareness without micromanaging
- Need for quick, actionable insights
Step 4: Find the Valuable Transaction
What can the user do in your product that:
- Advances the business goal?
- Satisfies the user's driving forces?
Example: Create and send first pulse check to team
This becomes: S01-First-Pulse-Check
Step 5: Repeat for Secondary Priorities
Continue down your prioritized Trigger Map:
- Next business goal
- Next persona
- Next driving force
Each valuable transaction becomes a scenario.
The Strategic Grounding (Q1-Q4)
Before mapping any pages, Freya's 8-question dialog establishes the strategic grounding through the first four questions:
Q1: Transaction — What needs to happen?
The specific thing the user needs to accomplish, stated as user purpose.
Transaction: Create and send first pulse check to team
Q2: Business Goal — Why does the business care?
Direct connection to your Trigger Map business goals.
Business Goal: BG01 - 5,000 active teams
Objective: Drive trial-to-active conversion
Q3: User & Situation — Who, where, when?
The persona AND their real-life context — not just a name but a vivid picture.
Harriet (Primary) — Remote team lead, Monday morning before weekly meeting.
Motivated to try something that shows value quickly. Cautiously optimistic.
Q4: Driving Forces — What do they hope and fear?
Visceral, specific driving forces. One sentence each.
Hope: Quick visibility into team health without seeming like a micromanager
Worry: Wasting time on another tool the team won't use
These four answers connect the scenario to strategy. Q5-Q8 then define the entry point, success criteria, and page flow.
Complete Example: From Trigger Map to Scenario
Trigger Map (Module 06)
Business Goal: BG01 - 5,000 active teams (Priority: High)
Persona: Harriet the Hybrid Manager
- Role: Remote team lead, 8-person team
- Driving Forces:
- Fear: Team burnout goes unnoticed
- Desire: Team awareness without micromanaging
- Need: Quick actionable insights
- Priority: High (critical user group)
Feature: F05-Pulse-Checks
- Connected to: BG01
- Connected to: Harriet (fear of burnout)
Strategic Context (from Trigger Map)
BG01: 5,000 active teams
↓
Harriet (Remote Team Lead)
↓
Fear: Team burnout goes unnoticed
Desire: Awareness without micromanaging
↓
Transaction: Create and send first pulse check
↓
S01-First-Pulse-Check
The Marriage
Business wants: 5,000 teams actively using the product
Harriet wants: Quick way to check team health without being intrusive
Transaction that satisfies both: Create simple pulse check, send to team, see results
This becomes: S01-First-Pulse-Check
Scenario Outline (Q1-Q8 Format)
# 01: Harriet's First Pulse Check
## Transaction (Q1)
Create and send first pulse check to team
## Business Goal (Q2)
BG01 - 5,000 active teams
Objective: Drive trial-to-active conversion
## User & Situation (Q3)
Harriet (Primary) — Remote team lead, Monday morning before weekly meeting.
Just set up her team account, motivated to try something that shows value quickly.
## Driving Forces (Q4)
Hope: Quick visibility into team health without seeming like a micromanager
Worry: Wasting time on another tool the team won't use
## Device & Starting Point (Q5 + Q6)
Desktop — Auto-redirected after team creation to "Create Your First Pulse Check"
## Best Outcome (Q7)
User: Pulse check sent, feels proactive about team health
Business: User activated core feature, team members receive first touchpoint
## Shortest Path (Q8)
1. **Welcome Screen** — Sees "Create First Pulse Check" prompt
2. **Pulse Check Builder** — Chooses template, reviews questions
3. **Select Recipients** — Picks team members
4. **Confirmation** — Pulse check sent successfully ✓
## Trigger Map Connections
Persona: Harriet (Primary)
Want: Team awareness without micromanaging
Fear: Team burnout going unnoticed
Business Goal: BG01 - 5,000 active teams
Prioritizing Multiple Scenarios
You'll identify many potential scenarios. Prioritize using this hierarchy:
Priority 1: Critical Path Scenarios
Scenarios directly connected to:
- Highest-priority business goal
- Most important persona
- Core product value
Example:
- S01-First-Pulse-Check (activation)
- S02-View-Results (value delivery)
- S03-Team-Setup (prerequisite)
Design these first. Everything else waits.
Priority 2: Supporting Scenarios
Scenarios that support Priority 1:
- Secondary personas using same features
- Alternative paths to same goal
- Enhancement scenarios
Example:
- S04-Recurring-Pulse (power user scenario)
- S05-Export-Results (advanced usage)
Design these after Priority 1 is validated.
Priority 3: Edge Case Scenarios
Scenarios for less common situations:
- Error recovery paths
- Administrative tasks
- Rare user segments
Example:
- S12-Password-Recovery
- S15-Delete-Team
Design these last, or defer to later iterations.
The Shortest Path Principle
"The scenario is the shortest path to make everyone happy."
When identifying scenarios from your Trigger Map:
Don't design everything.
Design the shortest path from:
- User's current state → User's desired state (user happy)
- Business's current state → Business's desired state (business happy)
Ask:
- What's the minimum number of steps?
- What's the fastest path to mutual value?
- What can we skip or defer?
Example:
Bad (too long):
Landing → Signup → Email Verify → Profile Setup → Team Creation →
Invite Members → Wait for Accepts → Tutorial → Feature Tour → Dashboard →
Finally Create Pulse Check
Good (shortest path):
Signup → Team Setup → First Pulse Check ✓
Everything else is optional or deferred to later scenarios.
Multiple Entry Points
Some scenarios have multiple natural starting points:
Example: S05-Add-Team-Member
## Natural Starting Points
1. From Dashboard → "Add Member" button (most common)
2. From Team Settings → "Manage Members" → "Add"
3. From Email → "You were added as admin" → "Invite your team"
4. From Pulse Results → "Only 3/8 members responded" → "Invite missing members"
Document all entry points, but design for the most common one first.
Alternative entry points get documented in specifications, not designed separately.
From Features to Scenarios
Your Trigger Map includes features. Scenarios implement those features.
Relationship:
| Trigger Map Feature | Scenarios That Implement It |
|---|---|
| F05-Pulse-Checks | S01-First-Pulse-Check S04-Recurring-Pulse S07-Customize-Questions |
| F08-Results-Dashboard | S02-View-Results S05-Export-Results S09-Share-With-Team |
| F02-Team-Management | S03-Team-Setup S06-Add-Member S10-Remove-Member |
One feature → Multiple scenarios
Each scenario is a specific user journey through that feature.
The Scenario Decision Matrix
Use this to decide if a potential scenario should be designed:
| Question | Must Answer |
|---|---|
| Does it connect to a business goal? | Which one? |
| Does it serve a persona from your Trigger Map? | Which persona? |
| Does it satisfy a driving force? | Which force? |
| What's the valuable transaction? | Be specific. |
| Where does the user come from? | Natural starting point? |
| What value does the user get? | Concrete outcome? |
| What value does the business get? | Measurable result? |
If you can't answer all seven questions, it's not ready to be a scenario.
Go back to your Trigger Map and clarify.
Common Patterns
Pattern 1: Onboarding Sequence
Connected scenarios that form activation flow:
S01-Signup → S02-Team-Setup → S03-First-Pulse-Check → S04-View-Results
Each scenario hands off to the next. Natural starting point is previous scenario's end state.
Pattern 2: Core Feature Variations
Same feature, different personas or situations:
F05-Pulse-Checks implemented as:
- S03-First-Pulse-Check (new user, guided)
- S08-Quick-Pulse (power user, shortcuts)
- S12-Recurring-Pulse-Setup (advanced, automation)
Each serves different driving forces for different personas.
Pattern 3: Administrative Tasks
Supporting scenarios that enable core scenarios:
Core: S03-First-Pulse-Check
Supporting: S05-Add-Team-Member (so they have someone to send to)
Supporting: S11-Update-Questions (so they can customize)
Design core first. Add supporting scenarios as needed.
How Freya Suggests Scenarios
Freya doesn't just help you create scenarios - she proactively suggests them by analyzing your Product Brief and Trigger Map.
What Freya Analyzes
From your Product Brief:
- Top business goals (ranked by priority)
- Success metrics
- Critical constraints
From your Trigger Map:
- Persona rankings (from Workshop 4)
- Ranked driving forces per persona (top 5-7)
- Feature-to-driver connections
- Business goal alignments
Freya combines these to identify strategic context for scenarios automatically.
Freya's Suggestion Process
Phase 1: Identify High-Value Chains
Freya looks for the strongest connections:
Priority #1 Business Goal
↓ (which persona drives this?)
Priority #1 Persona
↓ (what's their top driver?)
Top-Ranked Driving Force
↓ (what transaction satisfies both?)
Suggested Scenario
Example:
BG01: 5,000 active teams (Priority #1 from Brief)
↓
Remote Team Leads (Priority #1 from Workshop 4)
↓
Fear: Team burnout goes unnoticed (Top driver from Workshop 4)
↓
Transaction: Create first pulse check
↓
Freya suggests: S01-First-Pulse-Check
Phase 2: Present Ranked Scenario Suggestions
Freya presents scenarios in priority order with strategic reasoning:
Freya: "Based on your Trigger Map, I've identified 8 potential scenarios. Here are the top 3 by strategic value:
S01-First-Pulse-Check (Priority #1)
- Business Goal: BG01 - 5,000 active teams
- Persona: Remote Team Leads (your #1 priority group)
- Driver: Fear of team burnout (their #1 driver)
- Why this matters: Each team lead brings 5-10 team members. Solving their top fear drives activation and retention.
- Estimated impact: High (multiplier effect + urgent pain)
S02-View-Results (Priority #2)
- Business Goal: BG01 - 5,000 active teams
- Persona: Remote Team Leads
- Driver: Desire for actionable insights (their #2 driver)
- Why this matters: Completes the value loop from S01. Without seeing results, pulse check has no value.
- Estimated impact: High (required for S01 to deliver value)
S03-Team-Setup (Priority #3)
- Business Goal: BG01 - 5,000 active teams
- Persona: Remote Team Leads
- Driver: Want simple onboarding (their #4 driver)
- Why this matters: Prerequisite for S01. Must exist but isn't where the core value lives.
- Estimated impact: Medium (enabler, not value driver)
Should we start with S01?"
Phase 3: Walk Through the 8-Question Dialog
Once you select a scenario, Freya walks you through 8 questions — one at a time:
Freya: "Let's outline Harriet's First Pulse Check. Q1: What transaction do we need to get really right for Harriet?"
You: "Create and send her first pulse check to the team."
Freya: "Q2: Which business goal does this serve?"
You: "BG01 - getting 5,000 active teams."
Freya: "Q3: Tell me about Harriet in this moment — who is she, where is she, what's happening?"
You: "She just finished setting up her team. Monday morning before the weekly meeting. Cautiously optimistic but won't tolerate anything complicated."
Freya: "Q4: What does she hope for and what does she fear?"
Each answer shapes the next question naturally. By Q8, the scenario outline is complete.
How Freya Ranks Scenario Suggestions
Freya scores potential scenarios using:
1. Strategic Alignment (40%)
- Connection to top business goal: 20%
- Connection to priority persona: 10%
- Connection to top-ranked driver: 10%
2. Impact Potential (30%)
- Multiplier effect (does it bring more users?)
- Urgency of pain being solved
- Measurable business outcome
3. Dependencies (20%)
- Is this a prerequisite for other scenarios?
- Does it complete a value chain?
- What's the activation sequence?
4. Scope Clarity (10%)
- Can we define clear start/end states?
- Is the transaction well-bounded?
- Linear path possible?
Freya shows her work:
Freya: "I ranked S01-First-Pulse-Check as #1 because:
- ✓ Connects to your top business goal (BG01)
- ✓ Serves your priority #1 persona (Team Leads)
- ✓ Addresses their #1 driver (fear of burnout)
- ✓ High multiplier (each lead brings a team)
- ✓ Urgent pain (happening now)
- ✓ Clear transaction (create → send → done)
S02 ranked #2 because it completes the value chain but doesn't initiate it. S03 ranked #3 because it's an enabler, not core value."
What Freya Needs From You
Freya can answer Q1 and Q2 automatically from your Trigger Map. She needs your input for:
Q3: The real-life situation — Only you know when and why this persona would actually use your product.
Q4: Visceral driving forces — Freya can reference your Trigger Map, but you refine the hope and worry to be specific to this transaction.
Q6: How they actually arrive — Only you know your marketing channels and discovery paths.
Q8: The page flow — Only you know your product's structure and what screens exist.
Freya knows the "why" from your Trigger Map. You provide the "how" from your product knowledge.
Collaborative Flow
Freya suggests → You validate → Together you detail
Freya: "Your top 3 scenarios based on Trigger Map analysis..."
You: "Yes, S01 makes sense. But S03 should come before S01 - they need a team first."
Freya: "Good catch. Revising sequence: S03-Team-Setup, then S01-First-Pulse-Check."
You: "Exactly."
Freya: "Let's start with S03. How does a new user arrive at team setup?..."
This is collaborative scenario identification, not Freya dictating or you guessing.
Freya's Questions (After Suggestions)
After suggesting scenarios, Freya asks clarifying questions:
"I suggested S01-First-Pulse-Check as priority #1. Does this align with your product vision?"
"Should S03-Team-Setup come before S01, or can they happen in parallel?"
"I see a gap: How does the user get from signup to team setup? Is that a separate scenario?"
"Looking at your top 3 suggested scenarios - do they form a complete activation flow, or are we missing steps?"
"Your Trigger Map has 3 priority personas. Should we create parallel scenarios for each, or focus on Remote Team Leads first?"
These questions refine the suggestions into a complete scenario roadmap.
Red Flags
Watch out for these signs that a scenario isn't ready:
❌ "Users might want to..." — Too vague, not connected to driving forces
❌ Can't identify which persona — Scenario isn't grounded in strategy
❌ No clear business value — Won't be sustainable
❌ No clear user value — Won't be used
❌ Too many steps — Not the shortest path
❌ Branches everywhere — This is multiple scenarios, not one
Practical Exercise
From your Trigger Map, answer the first 4 questions for your top scenario:
- Q1: What transaction do we need to get right? (user purpose, not feature name)
- Q2: Which business goal does it serve?
- Q3: Which persona, in what real-life situation?
- Q4: What do they hope and fear?
Write it down:
Q1 Transaction: [What the user needs to accomplish]
Q2 Business Goal: [Which goal from your Trigger Map]
Q3 User & Situation: [Persona name + vivid context]
Q4 Hope: [One sentence]
Q4 Worry: [One sentence]
This becomes scenario: 01-[personas-purpose]
What's Next
Now you know:
- ✓ What scenarios are (Lesson 1)
- ✓ How to identify which scenarios to create (Lesson 2)
Next lesson: The 8-question dialog — how Freya walks you through Q1-Q8 to create a complete scenario outline.
Continue to Lesson 3: Mapping the Journey →
← Back to Lesson 1 | Back to Module Overview
Part of Module 08: Outline Scenarios