Thursday, January 15, 2026

Learn how to Use AI for Product Discovery and Writing Higher Person Tales


AI is revolutionizing how groups develop merchandise. On this weblog we’ll introduce a set of prompts you should utilize to grasp your customers, put together to interview actual customers, generate a product backlog, add acceptance standards, and consider your personal consumer tales.

All through this weblog, I’ll use a constant instance so you possibly can see how outcomes from one immediate feed into the following. For our instance, let’s think about our group is growing a brand new product for valet-attended parking garages. We’ll validate our product by promoting initially to unbiased parking garages comparable to at boutique accommodations.

For the examples right here, I will likely be utilizing ChatGPT’s GPT 5.2 Considering mannequin.

Constructing a Persona

It stays crucial for groups to grasp a product’s customers and clients by interviewing, surveying, and observing them. A group can complement these interactions by coaching an AI on what’s been discovered after which interacting with a user-proxy AI. Crew members might, for instance, ask their user-proxy AI questions comparable to:

  • What do you consider this characteristic?
  • How usually would you utilize this characteristic?
  • What might make this characteristic extra helpful?
  • Which of those options would you discover extra helpful?
  • Would you be keen to pay for this characteristic?

The overall type of our immediate to create a persona is:

Our product is [product description]

Construct me a persona of [ persona description]. Checklist their hopes, considerations, emotional triggers, and resolution standards for selecting our product.

Right here’s what I used for the parking valet app:

Our firm is growing software program for valet-attended parking garages. To validate our product we'll promote initially to unbiased operations comparable to boutique accommodations.   

Construct me a persona of the proprietor or supervisor of such a parking storage. Checklist their hopes, considerations, emotional triggers, and resolution standards for selecting our product.

The Outcomes

I used to be given a persona, Carlos Martinez, who owns and operates a valet-attended storage with 80–200 areas at a boutique lodge. Carlos has 10–25 years in parking and hospitality. He has a group of 5–25 valet attendants, who’re a mixture of full-time and high-turnover part-time workers.

The purpose about high-turnover part-time workers is an perception I may need ignored. I take into consideration a lodge I go to usually: there are 4 attendants I see each journey, and I’d acknowledge them away from the lodge. The opposite attendants blur collectively. I guess they’re the high-turnover part-time ones.

You may view the total persona description within the popup beneath.

I notably like seeing our persona’s hopes and aspirations. My persona is such that I at all times wish to get proper all the way down to what a consumer wants, however understanding their hopes and aspirations is useful. There have been a number of issues on this persona I won’t have recognized by myself:

  • Decreasing the dependency on one “supervisor who is aware of every part”
  • Win or renew lodge contracts extra simply (I may need considered this later however I’d have been initially too centered on working the storage to have considered Carlos’s large concern: renewing the lodge’s contract with him)
  • Predictable labor prices. If our product consists of the appropriate analytics, we are able to positively assist with this characteristic I won’t have considered.

Interviewing the Persona

As soon as AI has created the persona, inform it:

Please act as [persona name] and let me interview you. 

You may see an excerpt of my interview with Carlos.

The downloadable immediate pack consists of some pattern questions I’ve discovered helpful you should utilize to get began.

An Interview Information for Actual Customers

It’s also possible to use AI to arrange interview questions of actual customers or clients who match a persona. To do this, I exploit this immediate:

I plan to interview some precise customers who match this persona. Please put together an interview information I can use.

Embrace key factors I ought to make initially about confidentially, time dedication, objective, and that there are not any proper or unsuitable solutions. 

Determine questions I can ask concerning the present course of and ache factors with it. As acceptable, embody appropriate follow-up questions that probe for extra depth. 

Embrace questions that can assist me perceive their desired future state together with objectives and success standards. 

Embrace questions on constraints (regulatory or different) that I ought to ask. 

Lastly, embody questions or statements I can use to wrap up the session.

You may see the interview information for the owner-operator of the valet-attended parking storage. I’ve ready effectively over 100 of such interview guides over time. this makes me notice how significantly better ready I might have been had AI been obtainable.

Writing Person Tales

On an agile undertaking, we finally wish to get to the extent of writing particular product backlog objects, sometimes consumer tales and job tales. To do this, we’ll use this immediate:

You're a enterprise analyst liable for writing clear, high-quality consumer and job tales. 

Every consumer story should strictly comply with this precise format: 

As a [USER ROLE] I need [WHAT] in order that [WHY]. 

Every job story should strictly comply with this format:

When [SITUATION], I wish to [MOTIVATION] so I can [EXPECTED OUTCOME].

Every consumer and job story should fulfill the INVEST standards as follows: 

- Impartial: one characteristic or want per story. 
- Negotiable: open to dialogue, keep away from overly detailed options. 
- Precious: clearly advantages the consumer or enterprise. 
- Estimable: scoped effectively for effort estimation. 
- Small: completable inside one dash. 
- Testable: suggest verifiable outcomes (acceptance standards not required). 

Use clear, concise language appropriate for agile improvement groups.  

Produce tales within the precise format beneath with no numbering, bullet factors, commentary, or clean strains. 

Select between consumer and job tales for every want as acceptable. 

Don't deviate from these codecs or add anything. 

The product is [describe the product].

Deal with this useful space of the product: [describe a subset of the product].

Your process is to generate as many tales as wanted to for [attach a persona PDF or name the persona].

Nearly all of this immediate offers steerage on what consumer and job tales are, describes the INVEST standards of excellent tales after which instructs the AI to provide tales with out additional info or formatting. This permits them to be simply copied and imported right into a backlog administration system.

The previous few strains of the immediate are the place issues get fascinating.

Product Description

Describe the services or products being developed. You may alter the immediate to incorporate this as a file when you’ve got an in depth description.

Purposeful Space

Instruct the AI to give attention to a subset of the product. Should you’re growing a phrase processor, for instance, you would possibly give attention to printing. The method will be repeated for every space of the product.

Persona

Lastly, point out the persona (or consumer position) for whom you wish to write tales. Should you created the persona within the AI chat, you possibly can simply title the persona (e.g., “for Carlos”).

Nonetheless, because you’ll probably repeat this course of, it’s helpful to avoid wasting the persona description in a file and add the file.

Tales for the Valet Parking Instance

For our ongoing parking valet instance product, right here’s how I crammed within the final a part of the immediate:

You're a enterprise analyst … [same as above]

The product is a brand new software program product to be offered to valet-attended parking storage proprietor/operators. To validate our product, we'll initially promote it to unbiased operations comparable to boutique accommodations. 

Your process is to generate as many tales as wanted for the persona connected. 

I didn’t instruct the AI to give attention to a subset of the storage proprietor/operator’s wants on this case. I felt just like the proprietor’s wants have been sufficiently small I might let the AI sort out all of them. Right here’s what I received:

  • When automobiles are dropped off by visitors, I need every handoff recorded clearly so I can cut back disputes about accountability.
  • As an owner-operator I need proof of auto situation at drop-off in order that I can shield the enterprise from false injury claims.
  • When a valet retrieves a car for a visitor, I need the retrieval time tracked so I can monitor visitor wait instances.
  • As an owner-operator I wish to know which valet dealt with every car in order that I can maintain workers accountable if points come up.
  • When peak check-in or check-out intervals happen, I need the drop-off and retrieval course of to remain quick so I can meet lodge service expectations.
  • As an owner-operator I need visibility into automobiles at present in valet custody in order that I can reply lodge or visitor questions confidently.
  • When a visitor studies an issue throughout pickup, I need entry to a transparent file of the car’s historical past so I can resolve the problem shortly.
  • As an owner-operator I need the drop-off and retrieval workflow to be easy for valets in order that new or momentary workers can use it appropriately.
  • When I’m not on-site, I wish to see what automobiles are being dropped off and retrieved so I can really feel answerable for operations remotely.

You may see the immediate gave AI sufficient element that it might appropriately fluctuate between consumer and job tales. It selected job tales when a set off or scenario was extra vital than the particular consumer performing a narrative. For instance when automobiles are dropped off and when I’m no on-site.

Including Acceptance Standards

I choose including acceptance standards as a separate step after I’ve tales for one a part of the product. AI can simply add these as a easy bulleted checklist or in Gherkin format (given-when-then).

I discover the simplicity and terseness of a easy checklist preferable once I’ll overview the tales with customers. It’s also possible to ask AI to transform them into Gherkin format later.

To generate acceptance standards throughout the similar AI session, you should utilize this immediate:

Please add acceptance standards to the tales you wrote expressing them as [just a list][in Gherkin format].

Instance Acceptance Standards

Right here’s the instance acceptance standards as a easy checklist and in Gherkin format for this story:

As an owner-operator I need proof of auto situation at drop-off in order that I can shield the enterprise from false injury claims.

Checklist

  • Car situation proof is captured at drop-off
  • The proof is related to the proper car file
  • The proof will be seen after the car is returned

Gherkin

Function: Seize car situation at drop-off

State of affairs: Report car situation proof throughout drop-off

Given a car is being dropped off by a visitor
When the valet completes the drop-off course of
Then the system captures proof of the car’s situation
And the proof is related to the proper car file

State of affairs: View car situation proof after drop-off

Given a car has been dropped off with situation proof recorded
When the owner-operator views the car file
Then the car situation proof is displayed
And the proof is clearly identifiable as taken at drop-off

Given a injury declare is reported by a visitor
And car situation proof exists from drop-off
When the owner-operator critiques the declare
Then the owner-operator can entry the drop-off situation proof
And the proof features a timestamp indicating when it was captured

Having AI Consider Your Personal Tales

Synthetic Intelligence doesn’t have a monopoly on creativity. So naturally you will have to write down some consumer or job tales your self. While you do, it may be useful to have AI consider your tales. You may even have AI consider its personal tales–in any case, it’s not good.

We’ll have AI consider our tales in opposition to the well-known INVEST standards. These point out that tales ought to be:

  • Impartial
  • Negotiable
  • Valauble
  • Estimable
  • Small
  • Testable

Right here’s the overall type of the immediate for evaluating tales:

You might be an professional agile coach specializing in consumer story high quality. Your process is to judge consumer and job tales in opposition to the INVEST standards beneath:

- Impartial: Story stands alone with out dependencies.
- Negotiable: Story is open to dialogue and refinement.
- Precious: Story delivers clear consumer or enterprise worth.
- Estimable: Effort will be moderately estimated.
- Small: Story will be accomplished inside one dash.
- Testable: Story has clear, verifiable completion standards.

[Optional: Examples of good and bad output are in the attached file.]

For every consumer story and its acceptance standards

1. Determine solely the INVEST standards that the story does NOT meet.
2. For every unmet criterion, present a concise, particular clarification (1-2 sentences) centered on why the story fails it.
3. Recommend one concrete, actionable change that may make the story absolutely meet all INVEST standards, immediately addressing the unmet factors.

Format your response precisely as follows:

Story: [repeat the story]

INVEST Standards Not Met: [criteria separated by commas]

Rationalization:

Prompt Enchancment: [Concrete, actionable change]

Don't present suggestions on standards the story already meets.

Keep away from verbose or generic explanations. Recommend just one centered change.

Listed here are the tales and their acceptance standards:

[Stories followed by their acceptance criteria]

This immediate helps optionally together with a file containing examples of excellent and unhealthy consumer tales and acceptance standards. I counsel initially evaluating your tales with out bothering to do that. The outcomes will probably be ok.

Nonetheless, it’s straightforward to slowly assemble a doc of excellent and unhealthy examples by including one or two every time you do that. The AI Immediate Pack: Person Tales exhibits an instance format for the examples.

You may see how AI evaluated three of its personal tales.

A Sensible Companion, Not a Substitute

AI received’t substitute the necessity to discuss with actual customers, make judgment calls, or train product sense. What it can do is dramatically cut back the friction between these actions. It helps groups transfer quicker from imprecise concepts to concrete artifacts, exposes blind spots we would in any other case miss, and raises the baseline high quality of our work—particularly when time or expertise is proscribed.

Used effectively, AI turns into a tireless collaborator: one which remembers each persona element, by no means runs out of persistence for rewrites, and might immediately shift from big-picture pondering to express backlog objects. The prompts on this weblog will not be meant to be adopted blindly, however tailored, challenged, and refined—identical to any good agile observe.

If there’s one mindset shift to remove, it’s this: don’t ask whether or not AI can substitute a part of your product discovery or backlog refinement course of. Ask the way it might help you present up higher ready for the conversations that also matter most—with customers, stakeholders, and your group. That’s the place its actual worth lies.

Want Assist Utilizing AI to Speed up Your Crew?

Teaching groups on instruments and approaches like that is what we do. If you wish to talk about how we might help your group incorporate AI into its agile work, let’s discuss.


Final replace:

January thirteenth, 2026

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