HKSM

A collaborative technique that visually lays out a product's workflow and major elements on a map. Originating from Jeff Patton in 2005, it is frequently used to shape product roadmaps by organizing features across planned releases. The map shows the order of development slices and clarifies which capabilities will ship in the first, second, third, and subsequent iterations.

Key Points

• Visual hierarchy from user activities to tasks to user stories, showing the end-to-end experience.
• Enables release planning by slicing the map vertically to identify MVP and subsequent increments.
• Builds shared understanding, exposing gaps, dependencies, and priorities across the team.
• Continuously refined with feedback to guide incremental delivery and roadmap updates.

Example

An agile team building a mobile banking app creates a story map with top-level activities such as Sign In, View Balance, and Transfer Funds. They slice the map to plan releases: Release 1 includes basic sign-in and balance view; Release 2 adds transaction history and domestic transfers; Release 3 introduces biometric login and international transfers.

PMP Example Question

Which practice best helps an agile team visualize the user journey and plan releases by slicing features into incremental deliveries?

1. Backlog refinement focused only on ranking by business value
2. Network diagramming to map cross-team technical dependencies
3. Story mapping to outline activities and slice features across releases
4. Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) by component

Correct Answer: C — Story mapping

Explanation: Story mapping visualizes the workflow and groups stories to plan MVP and subsequent releases. It is not the same as WBS, dependency diagrams, or simple backlog ranking.