What are user scenarios?
They are a description of why users have come to the website, app, etc. It will include their specific goals and the journey they take to reach them.
Why are they important?
It is an important aspect of getting to know your user and their specific goals, only then can we start designing to help them meet these goals. This can help identify potential barriers users may face and make the interface more usable. I think it’s important to include these in the design process as you can see the product from the user’s point of view, making it easier to empathise with them and solve problems they may face.
What makes a good user scenario?
To make a good user scenario, ask the following questions:
Who am I designing for? With this, I can use the personas I create so I have an idea of a potential user. The user scenario then goes into more detail about the user and their goals.
What does the user want from my app? Some users may want different things from the app and it’s important you can provide that for them in an efficient way. This can be beneficial when it comes to designing as it encourages you to leave out any unnecessary details or pages. This is especially important for my app as it’s aimed at children and they may lose interest.
How will they achieve their goals? It is important to know how they go about finding information. This can include their expectations, previous knowledge, and potential barriers to achieving their goals.
Why do they use my app? Have they had positive past experiences with it? Curiosity? Recommended by a teacher/parent/friend? Landed on it accidentally?
Once I have finalised my user personas, I will begin writing some user scenarios. From researching, I can see why they would be beneficial and how they work hand in hand with personas. I think they can really make you see your product from the user’s point of view as it makes you think about why they are there and what goals they need to achieve. This way, you can make it easy for them through good design.