In this article, we'll provide an overview all AI Assist functionalities and discuss how you can take the most out of StoriesOnBoard AI.
First things first, you need to request the StoriesOnBoard AI Beta program. After submitting the request, you'll be notified (via email and in-app message) when the AI Assist features are enabled.
To submit your inquiry, go to the AI Assist menu, available from the left toolbar. Only Subscription admins can apply for the program.
Purpose of StoriesOnBoard AI
Although StoriesOnBoard AI could be quite effective at building user story maps even from scratch, the main goal of AI Assist is to
teach beginners how to build a user story map
brainstorm new backlog items (user goals, steps, user stories) for an existing story map
save time on writing user stories and acceptance criteria
write a short summary of a release for stakeholders
write a release summary (or at least provide input)
Take StoriesOnBoard AI as an additional person in your team offering you ideas and assisting with repetitive tasks.
Feature overview
StoriesOnBoard AI beta comes with the following features:
Product context
To put StoriesOnBoard AI into the picture and provide a proper result when you ask something from the AI, you need to specify a few things about your product. This description can be entered individually into each story map — it allows you to experiment with different product ideas or narrow the scope to a product component.
Three mandatory fields must be filled with information:
Product type: Enter the category e.g.: SaaS Roadmap tool
Purpose: What is the main problem that the product solves? You can summarize it into a single sentence.
Key features: What core and key features should be included in the product? For example, inviting teammates, exporting data, etc. You can enter features in a bullet list or separate them with a comma. You don't need to write full sentences.
Additional fields help you give more detail so the AI can brainstorm more refined ideas.
Target users: list user personas e.g.: Influencers, Marketing manager — you can enter multiple personas.
Platform/compatibility: here, you can tell a bit more about the technical stuff e.g.: web-based software, mobile app, etc.
Pricing model: If any payment or subscription related tasks are involved in your product, then share it with the AI.
Additional notes: anything you want to tell about the product beyond the provided information.
After entering all the information, the AI will review it and alert you if anything is unclear.
Collect user goals
If you create a new story map, the collect user goals option will immediately appear on the board.
After adding the first user goals, you can collect new goals by clicking the ✨ AI menu on the toolbar.
If you are not satisfied with the result, you can dismiss it and ask for new ideas. Some results might not fit well in your project — they could be out of scope, similar to the existing goals or overlapping with existing goals, etc.
Selected user goals will be added to the backlog.
Hints
StoriesOnBoard AI always tries to determine the optimal size of a user goal and can adjust brainstormed goals to your needs if you request new goals after adding a few yourself.
Frequently repeated or common goals should be added by you: Sign up, manage profile settings, manage subscription, etc.
Collect user steps
In addition to the initial state where the "collect user steps" pop-up is visible, you can collect user steps at any time by opening the "..." menu on a user goal.
Selected user steps will be added to the user goal in the order in which they are clicked on the result screen.
Hints
Similar to user goals, the results improve if you've already added some user steps to the goal.
Some user goals contain a few steps, while others have a broad narrative flow with multiple steps. If the resulting user steps are too small (more like a user story), it means you probably don't need to add more steps.
User steps don't always appear in narrative order; after adding them to the story map, you should rearrange them.
Always check the resulting user steps before adding them to the board - repeated steps may occur.
Brainstorm user stories
After building the story map's backbone (user goals and steps), you can start brainstorming your first user stories. This feature can be accessed through the "..." menu of a user step.
StoriesOnBoard AI shortens all user stories into a form that fits cards — you can write the standard user story form (As a user... I want to... So that...) into the card details or ask the AI to write it.
Hints
Existing user stories can also improve results here as well.
Write user stories
Let's dive into the details. If you want to add information to the card's description will, you can ask StoriesOnBoard AI to write the user story in the standard form. The user story will be added to the beginning of the description.
This feature can be triggered directly from a user story card.
Collect acceptance criteria
Asking StoriesOnBoard AI to write acceptance criteria will result in a list of possible criteria. You can add all the brainstormed items or deselect irrelevant ones.
Like user story writing, this feature can be triggered directly from a user story card.
Acceptance criteria will be added to the end of the description.
Write release summary
The primary purpose of writing a release summary is to provide a brief overview of the release's contents. Stakeholders and managers often won't delve into the details and read every user story. This is where StoriesOnBoard AI steps in, as it can generate a 5-10 bullet summary of all the user stories involved in the current release, whether you have 20 or 200 stories.
Write release announcement
To provide a captivating release announcement for each release, you should hit the "Write release announcement" button on the release details.
StoriesOnBoard AI groups user stories into features. You can select either long or short descriptions for a feature. Features marked as 'long' will be presented in individual paragraphs, while those marked as 'short' will be listed at the end of the announcement under the heading 'Other features'.
Need something more from the AI Assist? Let us know! Drop a message via the chat widget or the feedback button!
BETA Program information
Applying for the Beta Program
While StoriesOnBoard AI is in its BETA phase, users are required to request access.
Important: Only Subscription Admins are eligible to apply for the BETA program, and this is after agreeing to supplementary terms.
Once your request is submitted, our team will reach out to you within a few days.
We are diligently working to collaborate with you on AI Assistance, incorporate more features, and ensure the final version is available to every workspace in the near future.
Usage
Every workspace where the AI Assist is enabled receives 100K tokens for free. This should suffice for constructing approximately 20-30 story maps. Once you exhaust these tokens, the AI features will cease to function.
Unsubscribing from the BETA Program
While AI Assistance is available at no charge, you have the option to disable this feature whenever you wish. To do so, navigate to the AI Assist page and unsubscribe from StoriesOnBoard AI.
Upon deactivation, all results provided by the AI (such as cards and descriptions) will remain in your workspace, but the corresponding action buttons will be removed.