Brukshistorier

Brukshistorier is a Norwegian term for narrative accounts that describe how people interact with a product, service, or system in real-life contexts. They are used in user experience design, product development and public services to illustrate user goals, tasks and outcomes, and to communicate needs to teams and stakeholders.

Brukshistorier are closely related to user stories in agile development, but can also take the form of longer case studies. A typical brukshistorie centers on a user role, a goal and the value achieved, and rests on observed or researched behavior rather than purely hypothetical requirements. In many contexts, they are written as short "As a X, I want to Y, so that Z" statements or as narrative scenarios.

Methods for creating brukshistorier include interviews, field observations, diary studies and usability testing. Data is usually anonymized, and stories are built from real experiences or composites to protect privacy. Personas and usage scenarios are common ways to structure the narratives, which may describe context, steps, decision points and outcomes.

Applications include guiding design decisions, shaping requirements, prioritizing development work, and communicating user value to managers and stakeholders. They can also serve as acceptance criteria for features or as a basis for evaluating usability during testing.

Limitations include potential bias if stories are too anecdotal or unrepresentative of the broader user base. They should be complemented with quantitative data and broader user research. Ethical considerations, such as consent and privacy, are important when collecting and sharing real-user experiences.

Brukshistorier are widely used in Norwegian industry and public sector as a means to ground service design and product development in real user needs.