Use Cases vs. User Scenarios

Wed May 21 06:16:59 UTC 2008

Hello Fluid Folk!

At the end of this message are a few items of interest. Please bear  
with me if you've seen some of them before. All are timely for Kuali  
Student:

* Discussion of Use Cases vs. User Scenarios

* Adaptive Path's new UCD book: "Subject To Change"

* Swimlane showing how UC and UX view the same project

Happy perusing.

--Rachel

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Swimlane showing how UC and UX view the same project

Yvonne Shek of nForm (Edmonton, Canada) created a diagram that  
combines UX, use case, business and storyboard views of a project. She  
won the people's choice award for deliverables at ASIS&T's IA Summit:

http://nform.ca/blog/images/Swimlane_example2.gif

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Adaptive Path's new UCD book

JJ Garett's group, Adaptive Path, has a new book out. The title is  
"Subject To Change":

http://www.amazon.com/Subject-Change-Creating-Products-Uncertain/dp/0596516835/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210988456&sr=8-1

I have not yet read this book, but it is coming soon to Berkeley's UX  
library. I did take a workshop with Adaptive Path earlier this year.

While less structured than Cooper, the vitality of Adaptive Path's  
approach and triangulation with Cooper is helpful for me. I have been  
consistently impressed by the way Allison encourages groups to take  
small steps into the UX pond. In Kuali Student I have been soft- 
pedaling the message that some UX is better than none, because UX is  
still largely confused with UI. But Adaptive Path is all about doing  
UX any way you can, and I mostly agree. I'd love to hear what others  
have to say about structured vs. "guerilla" UCD.

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Discussion of Use Cases vs. User Scenarios

from Information Architecture Institute community discussion list
http://iainstitute.org/

From: andrew_hinton at vanguard.com
Date: May 16, 2008 7:36:59 AM PDT

Your distinction is great! Use Cases don't take personal environmental  
& habitual context into account. They're necessary, of course, as an  
intermediate step between the context-rich story the scenario  
provides, and the cold logic of the developer's code & "business  
rules" of the application. But the people designing the UI, labeling  
the controls, links and fields, developing the aesthetics and writing  
content need to know more than just the mechanics of what the user  
will be doing.

Also, technically, use cases are descriptions of *system* behavior,  
not user behavior. It doesn't focus on a particular user or kind of  
user -- it focuses on what situations "of use" the system may  
encounter and how it should respond. That's far from the same thing as  
a scenario.

In fact, the scenario helps drive the use-cases ... it explains that  
the user is, for example, typically working on a site or application  
in a busy office with (as you mention) various distractions, and may  
have to save progress and return -- then the use cases would need to  
reflect that.

Ideally, then, the persona/scenario work comes before requirements  
work and use-case writing ... but I realize that ideal is kind of rare  
(hence the need to keep explaining to colleagues why the persona/ 
scenario work is necessary!)
---
Andrew Hinton

From: Cori Stankowicz <johnsoncori at hotmail.com>
Date: May 16, 2008 6:55:07 AM PDT

In my experience, the use cases detail every possible option or action  
on the site - each result and each variable. User scenarios are meant  
to show how a typical user (or persona) would use a specific option or  
action. The way I think of it is that use cases take the user out of  
picture; they are simply to document the system responses to any  
single action. Scenarios can also document what the user may do before  
and/or after they interact with your product - something that the use  
cases simply are not meant to do. Hope this helps. -Cori
Cori R. Stankowicz
User Experience Architect
Tribal/DDB Chicago

From: praveenkvma at hotmail.com
Date: May 16, 2008 2:51:31 AM PDT

Lately, I have been assigned on a project that includes 2 Bunisess  
Analysts (BA) also for requirement gatherings phase. However, this is  
the first time that they are working with an IA. BAs are developing  
Use Cases and I will be developing User Needs Matrix, Persona, and  
Scenarios.

The problem I am facing is classical and I am sure you guys must have  
discussed it here sometime, but I am a new member.

The product manager is not understanding the difference between Use  
Cases and User Scenarios. I explained him but he still does not  
understand the value of User Scenarios Vs Use Cases. I am supposed to  
present the difference to the management very soon and seek your help.  
I am looking at some great and convincing examples to build up the case.

I would like to hear your definitions and also what is the best way to  
collaborate with Business Analysts on a project? Please send me  
pointers to papers, articles, books, etc.

My crisp definition is:

Use Case: A bulleted user - system talk which follows action-response  
pattern. It does not talk about the user's demographic profile,  
technical awareness, and environment or context.

User Scenario: A rich narrative of user's interaction with the product  
that also incoportates his persona and environment. E.g. He gets  
distracted a lot because he sits at the front desk.

Thanks,

Praveen Verma
Information Architect
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Rachel Hollowgrass
Senior User Interaction Designer
Educational Technology Services
University of California at Berkeley

UX Lead for Kuali Student project

rachel at media.berkeley.edu
(510) 673-9932
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