I've been collecting the stories of unreleased documents for several years. Now I have chosen 11 examples that were created—and buried—by both Democratic. National Security Decision Directives with Classified Titles.

.This article will show you how to create better user stories. You’ll learn how to write them like a designer, test them like an entrepreneur, and use them to drive better discussions like an agile coach. Creating a User Story What is a user story?User stories have a specific format:“As a persona,I want to do somethingso that I can realize a reward”This format is designed to help the story writer be descriptive and to drive better discussions about implementation with the rest of their team. Done right, the format helps prompt the following important questions:If answering those questions seems like a lot of work, I’ll mention here that taking stock of new product failure rates, IT project failures, and the portion of features that actually are substantially used, something on the order of most or at least ‘a lot’ of software ends up lightly used or quickly scrapped. Skillful use of stories will improve your outcomes, your economics, and, most importantly, your team’s sense that the work they’re doing matters to the user.If you’re writing a story, your job is the fill in the (red) blanks. The persona is a vivid, humanized, yet operational description of your user (see also ). The ‘do something’ is a goal you assume the user has.

The ‘realize a reward’ clause is a testable statement of how you’ll know if the user realized that goal. The realize a reward clause is the most neglected by most story writers and yet it’s the most important. The single best litmus test for whether you have a good story is whether you could put a simple prototype in front of a user, ask them to act on the goal you’re assuming, and see if they can achieve it.Let’s look at a specific example to see how that would work in practice.

Enable Quiz is a fictional company I use in a lot of my examples. They’re (fictionally) building an app that allows an HR manager to screen job candidates for a specific, technical skills sets relative to a job description.

There’s something not quite right about this cheeseburgerIn today’s post, we’re going to look at what native advertising is, why it can be so, and several native advertising examples that are really impressive – as well as a few that are downright terrible. What Is Native Advertising?Simply put, native advertising is paid content. Brands and advertisers love native ads, mainly because the click-through rates tend to be much higher than typical advertisements and engagement is usually much stronger. However, not everyone is as enamored with native ads, particularly consumers.Several professional organizations have weighed in on the often vague nature of native advertising. The Federal Trade Commission is considering implementing regulatory measures on brands using native ads to promote their products, and the FTC has also indicated it may monitor the market closely to ensure that native advertising is being used in a manner that benefits consumers.

The American Society of Magazine Editors has also called for greater transparency and oversight when it comes to native advertising.The reason that many publishers see native advertising as a risky proposition is the potential for this kind of content to erode the public’s trust. After all, if The New York Times publishes a “story” by Dell in exchange for money, can the Times objectively report on matters relating to Dell, or has every mention of the company been paid for? Formula one: built to win nes. This is the dilemma facing publishers today.

This example is, admittedly, a little murky when it comes to the definition of native advertising above. Firstly, The Onion created this content specifically for its client (in this case, H&R Block), rather than Block simply publishing its own content on the site. However, the content itself and its positioning still classify it as native advertising, rather than “traditional” sponsored content, at least in my book.When this content was published in 2012, it was framed by several traditional vertical and horizontal banner ads for H&R Block. Even if visitors didn’t click on these banners (which they’re unlikely to, as, according to Solve Media), the result was significantly increased brand awareness.

Why It WorksAlthough the content of this post isn’t about H&R Block specifically, it does address the typically bland, dry topic of taxes in a fun, relatable and highly entertaining way, creating a positive association with the advertiser. This native ad even poked fun at the box that clearly marks the page as sponsored content by including an endorsement from The Onion’s fictitious “publisher emeritus” T. Herman Zweibel.Although the banners served as calls to action, the main purpose of the campaign was to further increase H&R Block’s brand awareness – a goal that this native advertising example accomplished admirably. 'Infographic: UPS’s 2012 Change in the (Supply) Chain Survey,' Fast CompanyThis infographic highlighting UPS’s innovations in its supply chain management operations is another excellent example of native advertising. It’s not the prettiest infographic you’ll ever see, but it gets the job done.

Why It WorksWhat makes this infographic such a great example of native advertising is that its virtually indistinguishable from Fast Company’s typical content. Notice the tiny gray “Advertisement” tag at the top? It’s definitely easy to miss.

The infographic’s use of UPS’ brown and yellow color scheme further reinforces the content’s brand messaging in a subtle way, and the infographic succeeds in selling UPS’ services in the tried-and-trusted “problem/solution” format. '10 Quotes Every Grad Needs to Read,' BuzzFeedAlongside Upworthy, BuzzFeed is the most successful viral hit factory on the web. Is it any wonder that the site would eventually open up its coveted readership to sponsors with deep pockets? Case in point, the BuzzFeed “Community” pages, featuring brands like publishing giant HarperCollins. As you can see above, posts made to the Community section of BuzzFeed have “not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed’s editorial staff,” meaning that HarperCollins (and Mini, and Pepsi, and the other brands that publish content at BuzzFeed) have simply paid for the privilege of getting their brand in front of BuzzFeed’s audience.

Apart from the prominent HarperCollins logo above the social share buttons, there’s little to set this apart from BuzzFeed’s regular content. Why It WorksTimeliness factors into the success of this native advertising example.

Firstly, the post was published in late June, coinciding well with graduation season. Secondly, the basis of the post was teacher David McCullough, Jr.’s famous “You Are Not Special” commencement speech, which itself went viral.The post adheres strictly to BuzzFeed’s popular animated.GIF/listicle post format, making it easily digestible, and the headline is impeccably crafted for BuzzFeed’s audience, as you’d expect.

There’s very little obvious connection between the client (a major publishing house) to the content, aside from the implied relationship between college graduates and books, so the ad comes off as a “soft sell,” which is easier for audiences to stomach than forceful product placement. 'Should You Accept Your Employer’s Pension Buyout Offer?' , ForbesForbes has published articles like this for years, but as the publication has transitioned from a full-time staff to a contributor-led model, it’s hardly surprising that Forbes has begun to publish native advertising by financial institutions like this one from Fidelity Investments. This is a particularly good example of native advertising, as while the post is most definitely branded and has an unmistakable angle, the post itself contains some real substance.

It outlines the pros and cons of both monthly payment and lump sum pension buyout options, backed up with hard numbers about inflation rates and how accepting a pension buyout offer can affect your tax status. Why It WorksYes, it’s blatantly branded content, and Fidelity makes no secret of its services, but this post actually contains more financial advice and insight than most typical Forbes finance and business content. Readers should most definitely remain aware of Fidelity’s agenda when reading, but overall, this native advertisement provides real value to the reader, does so in a way that Forbes’ audience would expect, and aligns with the publication’s editorial and stylistic guidelines. A great example. 'Hennessy Fuels Our Chase for the Wild Rabbit But What Does It All Mean?' , Vanity FairVanity Fair has a long tradition of publishing effortlessly trendy lifestyle journalism, which makes it an ideal vehicle (pardon the pun) for native advertising. This native ad combines video and written content to go behind the scenes of a video about English race car driver Sir Malcolm Campbell, “The Fastest Man on Earth.” Campbell was the first man to break the 300mph land speed record way back in 1935, and he remains an enduring symbol of ambition – the perfect gentleman to sell top-shelf liquor.

Hennessy partnered with creative agency Droga5 to produce the video, which coincided with the drink maker’s “Never Stop, Never Settle” campaign. Why It WorksIn addition to drawing a subtle yet striking comparison between Campbell’s spirit of adventure and Hennessy’s “Wild Rabbit” campaign (“a metaphor for one’s inner drive to succeed”, according to the article), the piece is genuinely interesting. The content’s inevitable product placement is handled well, and it doesn’t feel gratuitous or tenuously positioned alongside the subject matter. Finally, the piece is as stylish as a regular Vanity Fair feature, which results in an engaging experience for the reader. The Hall of Shame: Terrible Native Advertising ExamplesNow that we’ve seen how the pros create sponsored content, how about we point and laugh at some of the very worst native advertising examples on the web? 'David Miscavige Leads Scientology to Milestone Year,' The AtlanticAlthough The Atlantic was quick to pull this disastrous foray into native advertising from its site soon after it went live, thanks to the fine folks at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, who decided to permanently archive it – presumably to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. This “content” was originally created to promote the TBS reality TV show “King of the Nerds.” Aside from the tiny “Sponsored” tag toward the top of the post (highlighted above), there is nothing to distinguish this ad from the type of drivel Gawker usually publishes.

At the end of, V and Urizen eventually merge, allowing Vergil to become whole again, but with even more power than he had before. Devil may cry 5 walkthrough.

After the promo was over, the editorial staff at Gawker couldn’t even be bothered to restructure the article to remain grammatically correct, and instead just deleted the name of the show (see the second paragraph). For shame.Gawker (deservedly) took a lot of heat for this and its other native ads, which led the publisher to implement a new policy of transparency.

These days, a native Gawker ad looks like this. Not only is the agenda of this piece completely transparent from the outset, the “Millennial work ethic” angle is so tired it’s practically comatose. Even the question posed by the article is ridiculous – no, Millennials will not “shun” offices, because most of them are saddled with back-breaking student loan debt and can’t find work. Oh, but if they do choose to shun the office, they can always use Dell hardware to telecommute, right?The only thing this native ad has going for it is that it’s impossible to mistake this ad for the Times’ actual editorial content.

It also appears that (as of the time of this writing) the Times has removed Dell’s other three sponsored posts, which I’m guessing is because the whole experiment was an unmitigated disaster.Oh dear. Native Ads: More Than Meets The Eye?Done well, native ads can be interesting, informative and sell a product or build a brand. Get them wrong, however, and your readers will hate you for it. Knowing how to strike this delicate yet crucial balance is difficult, but that hasn’t stopped publishers from jumping firmly on the native ads bandwagon.

Only time will tell whether the FTC or other regulatory bodies will chime in on how these ads should be displayed, but for now, it seems likely that both brands and publishers will continue to try and discover the magic formula.