BMAD-METHOD/docs/learn/module-06-trigger-mapping/tutorial-06.md

Tutorial 06: Create Your Trigger Map

Hands-on guide to mapping business goals to user psychology

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Overview

This tutorial walks you through creating a complete Trigger Map with Saga the Analyst. You'll complete all 5 workshops and create a scored feature list that guides your design decisions.

Time: 60-90 minutes
Prerequisites: Module 04 completed (Product Brief created)
What you'll create: Complete Trigger Map + scored feature list

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Before You Start

What You Need

• ✅ Completed Product Brief (from Tutorial 04)
• ✅ WDS installed and Saga activated
• ✅ 60-90 minutes of focused time
• ✅ Open mind for strategic thinking

What to Expect

Saga will:

• Guide you through 5 structured workshops
• Ask strategic questions
• Challenge vague answers
• Document everything
• Create your Trigger Map

You will:

• Provide strategic thinking
• Make decisions
• Think deeply about user psychology
• Prioritize ruthlessly
• Connect strategy to features

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Workshop 1: Business Goals (15-20 minutes)

Starting the Workshop

In your IDE, activate Saga:

@saga I'm ready to start Trigger Mapping. Let's begin with Workshop 1: Business Goals.

Understanding the Two Levels

Business goals work on two levels:

Vision (Visionary Statements):

• Aspirational and motivational
• Grand ambitions ("Be the best," "Top of mind")
• Easy to set, hard to measure
• Provides the "why" and emotional drive

Strategic Objectives:

• Specific and measurable (expressed using SMART method)
• Observable evidence that vision is being realized
• Harder to set, easy to measure
• Provides the "what" and accountability

What Saga Will Ask

Step 1: Vision (Visionary Statements)

• "What's the grand ambition behind this project?"
• "What does 'winning' look like at the highest level?"
• "What vision motivates your team?"

Step 2: Bridging Question

• "When this vision is being realized, what will we observe in the world?"
• "What measurable evidence would prove you're succeeding?"

Step 3: Strategic Objectives (using SMART method)

• "What specific, measurable outcomes would prove success?"
• "By when do you need to achieve these objectives?"
• "How will you measure progress toward each goal?"

Your Task

1. Define your Vision:

• Capture the grand ambition
• Focus on aspiration and motivation
• Don't worry about exact measurement

2. Bridge to observables:

• Ask yourself: "What will we see when this is realized?"
• Transform vision into observable evidence

3. Create 3-5 strategic objectives using the SMART model:

• Specific (not vague)
• Measurable (with numbers)
• Achievable (realistic)
• Relevant (to business)
• Time-bound (with deadline)

See SMART Method Reference for detailed guidance on creating strategic objectives.

Example Interaction

Saga: "What's the grand ambition behind this project?"

You: "Make remote work sustainable and healthy for distributed teams."

Saga: "Good vision. Now, when remote work is sustainable and healthy, what will we observe in the world? What measurable evidence would prove you're succeeding?"

You: "We'd see teams using our tool daily, staying with us long-term, and growing their usage. We'd see revenue that proves the business model works."

Saga: "Excellent. Let's express those observations as strategic objectives using the SMART model. What specific numbers would prove daily usage?"

You: "We need to achieve 5,000 active teams by Q4 2024, with at least 70% weekly retention and $50K monthly recurring revenue."

Saga: "Perfect. Let's document your vision and all your strategic objectives..."

Workshop 1 Output

You'll have:

• ✅ Clear vision statement (visionary statement)
• ✅ 3-5 strategic objectives (using SMART method)
• ✅ Connection between aspiration and measurement
• ✅ Documented success criteria
• ✅ Foundation for all strategic decisions

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Workshop 2: Target Groups (20-25 minutes)

The Core Question

WHO out there in the world will make sure, with their use of the product, that you achieve your goals?

This workshop identifies real people whose product usage drives your business success.

Starting Workshop 2

Continue with Saga:

@saga Let's move to Workshop 2: Target Groups.

What Saga Will Ask

The core question:

• "WHO out there in the world will make sure, with their use of the product, that you achieve your goals?"
• "Which representatives from which ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) can drive your success?"
• "What real people's lives will your product touch?"

Identifying groups:

• "What different user types could help you achieve your goals through their product use?"
• "What's the context for each group? What are they trying to accomplish?"
• "How will their use of the product connect to your business objectives?"

Creating personas:

• "Tell me about [group name]. What's their situation?"
• "What are their goals and motivations?"
• "What frustrates them in their current situation?"
• "What do they fear or want to avoid?"
• "How will the product need to give more value than the pain of using it?"

Prioritizing:

• "Which group's product usage has the most potential impact on your top business goal?"
• "Which group is most feasible to reach and serve effectively?"
• "How would you rank these groups by strategic value?"

Your Task

Identify 3-5 distinct groups:

• Real people out there in the world (not abstract segments)
• Not demographics ("parents aged 30-45")
• Behavioral and contextual profiles ("busy working parents juggling multiple kids' schedules")
• Specific enough to design for
• Focus on who will use the product in ways that achieve your goals

Create persona profile for each (WHO they are):

• Name and context (their real-world situation)
• Behavioral patterns (how they act)

Then define usage goals (when they face your problem space):

• Positive drivers (what they want to achieve)
• Negative drivers (what they want to avoid)
• How their product use connects to your business goals

Rank by priority:

• Which group's usage matters most for business goals?
• Which is most feasible to serve?
• Which will use the product in the intended way?

Example Interaction

Saga: "WHO out there in the world will make sure, with their use of the product, that you achieve your goals?"

You: "I see three main groups: remote team leads managing distributed teams, solo remote workers without office structure, and remote executives overseeing multiple teams. The team leads are critical because their daily use of team health monitoring directly drives our retention goal."

Saga: "Good start. Let's dig into the first group - remote team leads. What's their context? What are they trying to accomplish? And how will their use of the product help you achieve your business objectives?"

You: "They're managing 5-10 people across time zones. They want to keep the team productive and connected, but they can't see who's struggling. They fear team burnout and missed deadlines. If they use our pulse check feature daily, they'll prevent burnout, which drives our 70% retention goal."

Saga: "Excellent. That's specific and connects their usage to your business goals. Let's create a full persona for this group..."

Workshop 2 Output

You'll have:

• ✅ 3-5 prioritized target groups
• ✅ Detailed persona for each
• ✅ Clear ranking by strategic value
• ✅ Foundation for psychological mapping

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Workshop 3: Driving Forces (20-30 minutes)

Starting Workshop 3

Continue with Saga:

@saga Let's move to Workshop 3: Driving Forces.

What Saga Will Ask

For each persona, Saga will explore:

Positive drivers:

• "What does [persona] want to accomplish?"
• "What positive outcomes are they seeking?"
• "What would make their situation better?"
• "What goals are pulling them forward?"

Negative drivers:

• "What problems are they trying to avoid?"
• "What frustrates them about current solutions?"
• "What do they fear will happen if they don't solve this?"
• "What keeps them up at night?"

Emotional core:

• "Why does that matter to them emotionally?"
• "What's the deeper fear behind that frustration?"
• "How intense is this driver on a scale of 1-5?"

Your Task

For each persona:

• List 3-5 positive drivers (what they want)
• List 3-5 negative drivers (what they fear)
• Identify which are strongest
• Note emotional intensity

Be specific:

• Not: "Want to be productive"
• Yes: "Want to complete projects without last-minute panic and look competent to stakeholders"

Example Interaction

Saga: "Let's explore the driving forces for Remote Team Leads. What do they want to accomplish?"

You: "They want to demonstrate effective leadership to their management. They want to build a strong team culture despite the distance. They want to support team members before problems escalate."

Saga: "Good. Now let's look at the other side - what do they fear or want to avoid?"

You: "They fear team members burning out without them noticing. They fear being seen as an ineffective manager. They fear losing their top performers to burnout or better opportunities."

Saga: "Excellent. Which of these drivers feels most urgent and emotionally intense?"

You: "The fear of team burnout is the strongest. It's both urgent and has high emotional weight - they feel responsible for their team's wellbeing."

Workshop 3 Output

You'll have:

• ✅ Complete psychological profile for each persona
• ✅ Both positive and negative drivers mapped
• ✅ Understanding of emotional intensity
• ✅ Foundation for feature decisions

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Workshop 4: Prioritization (15-20 minutes)

Starting Workshop 4

Continue with Saga:

@saga Let's move to Workshop 4: Prioritization.

What Saga Will Ask

Prioritizing groups:

• "Which target group will have the biggest impact on your top business goal?"
• "Which group is most feasible to reach and serve effectively?"
• "How would you rank all groups from highest to lowest strategic value?"

Prioritizing drivers:

• "For [top persona], which driving forces are most powerful?"
• "Which drivers have the most emotional intensity?"
• "Which would drive the most urgent action?"
• "How would you rank these drivers?"

Your Task

Create rankings:

• Rank target groups 1-N
• For each group, rank their drivers
• Identify top 5-7 drivers overall
• These become your scoring criteria

Consider:

• Business impact (which drives goals?)
• Emotional intensity (which drives action?)
• Urgency (what needs solving now?)
• Feasibility (what can you address?)

Example Interaction

Saga: "Looking at your three target groups, which will have the biggest impact on your goal of reaching 10,000 active users?"

You: "Remote Team Leads are #1. They have teams of 5-10 people, so each lead we convert brings multiple users. They also have budget authority and urgent pain."

Saga: "Good reasoning. And for Remote Team Leads, which of their driving forces are most powerful?"

You: "The fear of team burnout without noticing is #1 - it's urgent and emotionally intense. Second is wanting to demonstrate effective leadership - that's their career driver."

Saga: "Perfect. Let's document these rankings..."

Workshop 4 Output

You'll have:

• ✅ Ranked list of target groups
• ✅ Ranked drivers for each group
• ✅ Top 5-7 drivers identified overall
• ✅ Clear strategic priorities

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Workshop 5: Feature Impact (20-30 minutes)

Starting Workshop 5

Continue with Saga:

@saga Let's move to Workshop 5: Feature Impact Analysis.

What Saga Will Ask

Feature brainstorming:

• "What features are you considering for this product?"
• "What ideas came up in your Product Brief?"
• "What have stakeholders requested?"
• "What do competitors offer?"

Scoring each feature:

• "How well does [feature] address [top driver]?"
• "Does this create gain or reduce pain for this persona?"
• "On a scale of 0-3, how much impact does this have?"
• "Why that score? What specifically does it address?"

Validation:

• "Are there features that would score higher?"
• "Could we modify any features to increase impact?"
• "Do the scores match your intuition?"

Your Task

List 10-20 features:

• Ideas from Product Brief
• Stakeholder requests
• Competitive features
• Your own ideas

Score each feature:

• Against top 5-7 prioritized drivers
• Use 0-3 scale (0=no impact, 3=directly addresses)
• Be honest (don't inflate scores)
• Calculate total for each feature

Create prioritized roadmap:

• Sort by total score
• Group into phases
• Identify quick wins

Example Interaction

Saga: "Let's score your first feature: Daily Team Pulse Check. How well does this address the fear of team burnout without noticing?"

You: "That's a 3 - it directly addresses that fear by giving daily visibility into team health."

Saga: "Good. And how about the desire to demonstrate effective leadership?"

You: "That's a 2. It gives them data to show they're monitoring and responding to team needs."

Saga: "Excellent. Let's continue scoring this feature against the other drivers..."

Scoring Matrix Example

Feature	Burnout Fear	Leadership	Retention	Culture	Deadlines	Total
Daily pulse check	3	2	2	1	1	9
Workload dashboard	3	2	2	0	2	9
Recognition system	1	1	2	3	0	7
Meeting summaries	0	1	0	1	2	4

Workshop 5 Output

You'll have:

• ✅ Complete feature list (10-20 features)
• ✅ Scored against top drivers
• ✅ Total impact score for each
• ✅ Prioritized roadmap
• ✅ Strategic justification for priorities

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Creating the Visual Trigger Map

Understanding the Structure

The Trigger Map flows horizontally (left to right) in four layers:

Business Goals → Product/Solution → Target Groups → Usage Goals
                                                     (Positive + Negative)

1. Business Goals (Left, Blue) - Your vision and strategic objectives
2. Product/Solution (Center, Yellow) - What you're building
3. Target Groups (Middle-Right, Orange) - Prioritized personas (👥 primary, 👤 secondary)
4. Usage Goals (Right, Green/Red) - Positive drivers (✅) and negative drivers (❌) separated

After All Workshops

Ask Saga to create the visual map:

@saga Please create the visual Trigger Map document that shows the strategic connections.

What You'll Get

A document showing:

• Business goals at center
• Target groups radiating out (prioritized)
• Positive drivers for each group
• Negative drivers for each group
• Visual hierarchy showing priorities

Using the Map

Reference it for:

• Every design decision
• Feature discussions
• Stakeholder presentations
• Team alignment
• Strategic reviews

Keep it:

• Visible to entire team
• Updated when strategy shifts
• As single source of strategic truth

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What You've Accomplished

✅ Business Goals - Clear vision and strategic objectives
✅ Target Groups - 3-5 prioritized personas with deep context
✅ Driving Forces - Positive and negative psychology mapped
✅ Prioritization - Ranked groups and drivers by strategic value
✅ Feature Impact - Scored and prioritized feature roadmap
✅ Visual Trigger Map - One-page strategic reference document

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Using Your Trigger Map

For Design Decisions

Before designing any feature:

1. Check the Trigger Map
2. Identify which drivers it addresses
3. Verify it serves a top-priority group
4. Ensure it connects to business goals
5. Design with that strategic context

For Stakeholder Communication

When presenting roadmap:

1. Show the Trigger Map first
2. Explain the strategic layers
3. Show the scoring matrix
4. Present prioritized features
5. Trace each feature back to strategy

For Team Alignment

In sprint planning:

1. Reference the Trigger Map
2. Discuss how features address drivers
3. Validate priorities against scores
4. Make trade-offs based on strategy
5. Keep strategic focus

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Keeping It Current

Quarterly Review

Every quarter:

• Review business goals (still accurate?)
• Review target groups (priorities changed?)
• Review drivers (new insights from users?)
• Re-score features if needed
• Update the visual map

When to Do Full Update

Re-run workshops when:

• Business strategy shifts significantly
• New user research reveals different psychology
• Market conditions change dramatically
• Product pivots to new direction

Don't re-run for:

• Minor feature changes
• Tactical adjustments
• Short-term experiments
• Individual stakeholder requests

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Common Questions

Q: What if I don't know the answers to Saga's questions?
A: That's okay! Mark it as an assumption to validate. The map helps you identify what you need to learn.

Q: How many features should I score?
A: Start with 10-15. You can always add more later. Focus on the features you're seriously considering.

Q: What if two features have the same score?
A: Consider feasibility, dependencies, and market timing as tie-breakers.

Q: Can I update scores as I learn more?
A: Yes! The scoring should evolve with your understanding. Update quarterly or when you have new insights.

Q: What if stakeholders disagree with the priorities?
A: Show them the Trigger Map and scoring matrix. Walk through the strategic reasoning. If they still disagree, explore whether the strategy itself needs updating.

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Next Steps

Immediate:

• Share Trigger Map with your team
• Post it where everyone can see it
• Reference it in your next design discussion
• Use scores to guide sprint planning

Next Module:

• Module 06: Scenarios
• Transform your Trigger Map into detailed user scenarios

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Tips for Success

DO ✅

• Be specific about drivers (avoid generic wants)
• Think about emotional intensity
• Prioritize ruthlessly (not everything is #1)
• Score honestly (don't inflate to justify pet features)
• Reference the map constantly

DON'T ❌

• Rush through workshops (take time to think)
• Accept vague answers (push for specificity)
• Skip negative drivers (they're often more powerful)
• Create the map once and forget it
• Let politics override strategic scores

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Your Trigger Map is the strategic foundation that guides every design decision. Use it well!

← Back to Lesson 11 | Back to Module Overview

Part of Module 06: Trigger Mapping