Four-Panel Storyboard Task
Create a four-panel storyboard. Be visual but don't get hung up on art. Grab clip art and photos from the web. Thinking about what to put in the storyboard may take hours, but limit the time constructing it to 20 minutes. The goal is to quickly and clearly nail down your first slice of value.
Put your storyboard in the slide set specified in the Canvas assignment. The slide set will contain examples from earlier in this course or a prior course. Key features to maintain:
Four panels only! Keep all texts to a short paragraph. Panels 1 and 2 introduce:
- a specific user, who typifies your target audience
- with a specific problem, that makes sense and is just what your app can solve
The most critical element is Panel 3. Panel 3 should be large, so that it can give a clear view of a specific app screen that delivering the payoff needed by the user in your scenario.
I evaluate 4-panel storyboards by two criteria:
- Buy? Can a potential user see enough in Panel 3 to know if she would wantt this?
- Build? Can a developer see enough in panel 3 to know exactly what to build.
Common 4-panel mistakes
Too much text. Less is more. Apple's Watch ads tell half a dozen stories in a minute.
Showing friction. Friction is the work a user has to do to get to the payoff, such as filling in a form. No one ever bought an app because they wanted to fill in forms.
Unreal data. Generic icons, abstract graphs, made-up names and events are useless for answering both Buy? and Build?.
The Nurse's Aide example shows what a good Panel 3 has. The screenshot has specific data. A nurse could tell if this makes sense right away. A developer would know what to build, at least for the data and display, right way.
If you need help, post to Piazza.