Before You Build, Write the Story

I’ve sat through countless meetings where people debated requirements. The conversations were thoughtful, the participants were engaged, everyone wanted to build the right thing, but there was just one problem — no one had clearly explained why the work mattered in the first place.

One of the simplest practices is to start by writing a short narrative before you start defining requirements and building.

Write out a story that answers a few simple questions.

• What problem are we trying to solve?

• How do we know it’s a problem?

• Who’s affected?

• What evidence do we have?

• What do we hope will improve?

• And perhaps most importantly: How will we know if we were successful?

Instead of debating features, people begin discussing outcomes. Instead of defending solutions, they explore alternatives. Instead of arguing over requirements nuances, they align around the problem they’re trying to solve.

Leadership, operations, designers, developers, and product owners all start from the same story. They understand the current condition, why change is needed, and what success looks like. That clarity makes later decisions much easier.

Requirements tell teams what to build. Narratives explain why the work matters.

A requirement might say : “Add an email notification when an application is submitted.”

A narrative might say : “Applicants often wonder whether their submission was received, leading to unnecessary calls to the help desk and reduced confidence in the process. Today, nearly 30% of applicants contact support within 24 hours of submitting an application. We believe providing immediate confirmation will reduce those calls while increasing applicant confidence. We’ll measure success by tracking support volume and applicant feedback after implementation.”

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Which one creates better alignment?

The narrative gives context to requirements. It reminds everyone what they’re actually trying to accomplish and why. And when new ideas emerge during development, the narrative provides something requirements alone cannot — a way to evaluate whether those ideas move the team closer to the intended outcome .

And once the work is released, the team revisits the same story. Did the support calls decrease? Did applicant confidence improve? Did the evidence support our assumptions? If not, what did we learn?

The narrative becomes a learning document instead of a planning document. That’s a very different way of thinking.

So, before you write the first requirement, before you estimate the first story, before you build the first screen…write the story.

If the team can’t clearly explain why the work matters, it probably isn’t ready to begin.

How does your team capture the “why” behind the work before development begins?

Reply or comment—I read every one.