User stories: Simplifying complex requirements

A user story is a concise, clear description of a task or functionality written from the perspective of the end user. It outlines what users need, why they need it and its benefits, offering a simple way to communicate and prioritise requirements. A typical user story answers three questions:

• Who: The user or role performing the task
• What: The task or functionality they need
• Why: The purpose or goal behind the task

Why are user stories important?

In complex, multifaceted projects like COGNIMAN, user stories are essential to align the development process with real-world needs, from both a technological and ethical perspective, to provide a solution that is not only innovative but that puts the user at the centre of the process. They aid in:

• Capturing diverse stakeholder needs: User stories represent the requirements of operators, developers, administrators and other stakeholders involved in the operation
• Guiding prioritisation: By focusing on specific tasks and goals, they help identify and prioritise critical functionalities
• Improving communication: They provide a clear and understandable way to convey needs between technical teams and stakeholders

Examples of user stories in the COGNIMAN context

To illustrate the role of user stories, let’s consider two of the COGNIMAN use cases:

1. Automating polishing and post-processing for medical implants

Current challenge: Polishing and post-processing of additively manufactured medical implants is a manual task. This process is labour-intensive and can be ergonomically challenging for operators.

COGNIMAN solution: Developing a robotic solution to automate the polishing process, improving efficiency and reducing operator strain.

User stories:

• “As an operator, I want the robotic system to take over polishing tasks so that I can avoid repetitive strain.”
• “As a quality assurance specialist, I want to monitor the performance of the robotic system to ensure consistent quality in implant finishing.”

2. Detecting breaks in glass fibre production

Current challenge: In the glass fibre manufacturing process, operators must manually monitor for fibre breaks. When a break occurs, the manufacturing process is interrupted, resulting in wasted time and material.

COGNIMAN solution: Integrating sensors to automatically detect breaks, enabling operators to act before significant damage occurs.

User stories:

• “As an operator, I want to be alerted to fibre breaks immediately so that I can intervene more quickly to minimise disruption and waste.”
• “As a technical developer, I want to ensure the sensors can differentiate between minor fluctuations and actual breaks so that false alarms are minimised.”

How are user stories incorporated in COGNIMAN?

User stories are developed through a structured process:

• Identify stakeholders and high-level requirements: Begin with understanding the primary users and their workflows for each use case.
• Define key roles: Categorise roles such as:

– Operators: Directly interacting with the process.

– Technical developers: Ensuring system integration and reliability.

– Administrators: Managing system operations and data.

• Capture specific needs: Develop user stories for each role based on their specific tasks and goals, as shown in the examples above.
• Guide system design: Translate these user stories into the functionality and user interface of the solutions.

This user-centric approach of capturing the who, what and why of specific tasks ensures that solutions address the challenges users actually face. Incorporating these user stories into the development process leads to systems that are not only technically robust but also user-friendly and impactful, incorporating not only the required technical functionality but also the needed mechanisms for efficient human-machine interactions.