From nw
Creates user story maps organizing backlogs by activities, prioritized tasks, walking skeleton, and outcome-based release slices. Outputs story-map.md and prioritization.md.
npx claudepluginhub nwave-ai/nwave --plugin nwThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
Create story maps that organize user stories spatially by activity and priority, then slice releases by outcome impact. Reference: Jeff Patton, "User Story Mapping" (2014). Integrates outcome-based prioritization from Gothelf/Seiden and riskiest-assumption-first from Maurya.
Guides creation of user story maps to visualize journeys, define walking skeletons, and slice releases for MVP scoping and Agile planning.
Generates prioritized user stories with Given/When/Then acceptance criteria, story point estimates, epic story mapping, and MoSCoW prioritization for sprint planning and backlogs.
Use this skill when the user asks to "write user stories", "decompose this into user stories", "break this into stories", "write acceptance criteria for this feature", "turn this PRD into stories", "create a story map", "help me write stories for sprint planning", or has a feature or PRD and wants to decompose it into shippable units for engineering. Do NOT use this skill to write a full PRD — use prd-authoring for that.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Create story maps that organize user stories spatially by activity and priority, then slice releases by outcome impact. Reference: Jeff Patton, "User Story Mapping" (2014). Integrates outcome-based prioritization from Gothelf/Seiden and riskiest-assumption-first from Maurya.
| Element | Position | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Backbone | Top row, left-to-right | User activities in chronological order -- the spine of the journey |
| Ribs | Columns under each activity | User tasks broken down vertically by detail and priority |
| Walking Skeleton | Horizontal line across all activities | Thinnest possible end-to-end working flow. Not an MVP -- it is the minimum slice that connects ALL activities |
| Release Slices | Horizontal bands below skeleton | Coherent groups of stories, each adding incremental value tied to a specific outcome |
Visual structure:
Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Task A.1 Task B.1 Task C.1 Task D.1 <- Walking Skeleton
........... ........... ........... ........... <- skeleton line
Task A.2 Task B.2 Task C.2 Task D.2 <- Release 1
Task A.3 Task B.3 <- Release 1
Task B.4 Task C.3 Task D.3 <- Release 2
Identify the user persona and their end-to-end goal. One map per persona-goal pair.
Write the big activities left-to-right in chronological order. These are verb phrases: "Search products", "Compare options", "Complete purchase". Aim for 4-8 activities.
Under each activity, list the tasks that support it. Write as short action phrases (user behaviors). Place more detail and less critical tasks lower.
Reorder tasks within each column: most critical at top, nice-to-have at bottom. Ask: "Which task is essential for this activity to work at all?"
Draw a horizontal line that captures exactly one task from each activity -- the thinnest slice that delivers end-to-end flow. Every activity must be represented. If an activity has no task above the line, the skeleton is incomplete.
Group remaining tasks into horizontal bands. Each band targets a specific outcome KPI. Name each release by the outcome it achieves, not the features it contains.
Prioritize releases by outcome impact, not feature completeness. Each release slice targets a specific measurable behavior change.
Value (outcome impact) x Urgency (time-sensitivity) / Effort (complexity) = Priority Score
Where (1-5 scale):
From Running Lean (Maurya): validate what could kill the product before optimizing what improves it.
| Priority | What to validate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Walking skeleton | Does the end-to-end flow work at all? |
| 2nd | Release targeting riskiest assumption | Could this assumption kill the product? |
| 3rd | Release targeting highest-value outcome | Which behavior change drives the most impact? |
| 4th+ | Remaining releases by Value x Urgency / Effort | Incremental value delivery |
Each release slice maps to the logic model chain (Gothelf/Seiden):
Release Slice -> Output (features built)
-> Outcome (behavior change: [Who] [Does what] [By how much])
-> Impact (business KPI moved)
# Story Map: {feature-name}
## User: {persona}
## Goal: {what they're trying to accomplish}
## Backbone
| Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity N |
|------------|------------|------------|------------|
| Task 1.1 | Task 2.1 | Task 3.1 | Task N.1 |
| Task 1.2 | Task 2.2 | Task 3.2 | |
| | Task 2.3 | | |
---
### Walking Skeleton
{List the minimum tasks from each activity that form the thinnest end-to-end slice}
### Release 1: {outcome target}
{Tasks included, outcome KPI targeted, rationale}
### Release 2: {outcome target}
{Tasks included, outcome KPI targeted, rationale}
# Prioritization: {feature-name}
## Release Priority
| Priority | Release | Target Outcome | KPI | Rationale |
|----------|---------|---------------|-----|-----------|
| 1 | Walking Skeleton | End-to-end flow works | {KPI} | Validates core assumption |
| 2 | {name} | {outcome} | {KPI} | {why this order} |
## Backlog Suggestions
| Story | Release | Priority | Outcome Link | Dependencies |
|-------|---------|----------|-------------|--------------|
| US-01 | WS | P1 | {KPI-1} | None |
| US-02 | R1 | P2 | {KPI-2} | US-01 |
> **Note**: In Phase 2.5, stories are task-level placeholders (e.g., "Search by category").
> Story IDs (US-01) are assigned in Phase 4 (Requirements). Revisit this table after Phase 4.
| Anti-Pattern | Problem | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Feature-first slicing | Release 1 = all of Feature A, Release 2 = all of Feature B. No end-to-end value until late. | Slice ACROSS features by outcome. Each release touches multiple activities. |
| No walking skeleton | Going deep on one activity before connecting end-to-end. Late integration risk. | Draw the skeleton first. One task per activity, thinnest possible. |
| Fat walking skeleton | Too many stories crammed into the skeleton. Defeats the purpose. | Skeleton = exactly the minimum to make the flow work. Move extras to Release 1. |
| Effort-based priority | Ordering by "easy first" instead of outcome impact. Delivers low-value features early. | Prioritize by Value x Urgency / Effort. Easy-but-low-value stories go to later releases. |
| Orphan stories | Stories with no outcome link. No measurable behavior change targeted. | Every story traces to an outcome KPI. If it cannot, question its value. |
| Activity gaps | Some activities have no tasks in a release slice. Breaks end-to-end coherence. | Walking skeleton covers all activities. Later releases may skip activities only if those are already sufficient. |