Essence of Story Mapping with Howard Podeswa

This topic is inspired by Howard Podeswa's collaboration with Ivar Jacobson, Michael Flynn and others at Ivar Jacobson International to develop The Story Mapping Gameboard - a new agile planning resource hosted on a free version of Essence Workbench. The presentation will provide practical guidance for carrying out the story-mapping steps as described in the resource and provide concrete examples of how to apply the technique in different contexts. A strong focus of both the talk and resource is how to combine story-mapping with other agile techniques and approaches to drive desirable outcomes including: ensuring every interim release (e.g., each sprint or iteration) delivers real customer value; the planning of MVP experiments to test hypotheses about the product or change; visualization of dependencies and gaps; and the splitting of large work items into small, valuable stories.

About Howard Podeswa:

Howard Podeswa is a thought leader in the intersection of agile and business analysis. For over twenty years, he has been helping large organizations optimize their BA and product ownership practices in agile environments. He is the author of The Agile Guide to Business Analysis and Planning (Addison-Wesley, 2021), a practical resource for aligning business analysis with agile delivery to drive product value. His earlier books—UML for the IT Business Analyst and The Business Analyst’s Handbook—are widely referenced in the field.

As founder of Noble Inc., Howard has supported clients around the globe, including the ISO, U.S. FDA, Moody’s, TELUS, the Mayo Clinic, UST and Intact Insurance. He has contributed to key industry frameworks and resources such as the PMI Guide to Business Analysis, the BABOK, and IIBA’s Nimble initiative, and is currently collaborating with Ivar Jacobson International on The Story Mapping Gameboard, an Essence Workbench-based tool for agile planning.

A frequent presenter at international conferences, Howard’s recent speaking engagements include BA & Beyond (Belgium, 2025), the IIBA Festival of Business Analysis (Australia, 2023), PMI Silicon Valley (2023), and BA Istanbul (2021).

In addition to his work in agile and analysis, Howard is an accomplished visual artist whose work has been exhibited internationally and included in numerous private and public collections. His exhibitions have been widely reviewed in art journals including Art Forum (2023), MOMUS, International Architecture and Design, Canadian Art Magazine, and Border Crossings Magazine

Contact: howardpodeswa@nobleinc.caLinkedIn: howardpodeswa