Why Most Software Tells Terrible Stories (And How to Fix It)

I was reviewing a client’s application the other day (a really complex financial platform with tons of features) when something hit me: I had no idea what story this app was trying to tell.

Let me explain what I mean.

Every piece of software, whether it’s a simple todo app or a complex enterprise system, is essentially telling a story. It’s taking users on a journey from point A (I have a problem) to point B (my problem is solved). But most apps tell that story really, really badly.

The Story Your Software Is Actually Telling

Think about the last app you used that frustrated you. I bet the story it told went something like this:

“Welcome to our app! We have 47 different features that we’re going to show you all at once. Here’s a dashboard with 12 different graphs that may or may not be relevant to what you’re trying to do. Oh, you want to actually complete a task? Cool, just navigate through these 8 screens and fill out this form with 20 fields. Don’t worry if half of them don’t make sense. We needed to capture all this data for… reasons.”

Not exactly compelling, right?

Compare that to an app like Stripe. Their story is crystal clear: “You want to accept payments. We’ll make that ridiculously simple.” Every screen, every interaction, every piece of copy reinforces that narrative.

What I Learned from Building Financial Apps

At Rocket Money (formerly Truebill), we were dealing with really complex financial data. Subscription management, budgeting, bill negotiation, there were dozens of features users could interact with.

The initial version of the app felt like a financial services brochure. Here’s your budget! Here are your subscriptions! Here’s your spending analysis! Here’s your credit score! It was overwhelming.

The breakthrough came when we started thinking about the user’s actual story: “I feel like I’m spending too much money, but I don’t know where it’s going or how to control it.”

Once we had that narrative, everything else fell into place. The first screen showed you your biggest expenses. The second screen let you see what you could cancel immediately. The third screen helped you set up budgets to prevent future overspending.

Same features, completely different story. And user engagement went through the roof.

The Micro-Stories That Matter

But it’s not just the big picture narrative. Every interaction in your app is telling a mini-story.

Take something as simple as a loading screen. Most apps tell this story: “Something is happening. Please wait. We have no idea how long this will take or if it’s working.”

Better apps tell this story: “We’re processing your payment (step 2 of 3). This usually takes about 15 seconds…”

Or error messages. Bad apps say: “Error 500: Internal server error.”

Good apps say: “Oops, something went wrong on our end. We’ve been notified and are looking into it. In the meantime, you can try refreshing the page or contact support if this keeps happening.”

Same information, but one version makes you feel like the app is working with you, while the other makes you feel like you’re fighting against it.

The Technical Side of Storytelling

As developers, we often think storytelling is just about copy and design. But there’s a technical component too.

Performance is storytelling. A fast app tells the story: “We respect your time.” A slow app tells the story: “Your time isn’t important to us.”

Error handling is storytelling. Good error recovery tells the story: “Even when things go wrong, we’ve got your back.”

Data management is storytelling. An app that remembers your preferences and context tells the story: “We know you and we’re making your life easier.”

Where Most Teams Go Wrong

The biggest mistake I see is teams building features without understanding what story those features serve.

I worked with a startup once that built this elaborate user onboarding flow with personality quizzes and preference settings. It took about 10 minutes to complete. They were proud of how “comprehensive” it was.

But the story it told was: “You can’t use our app until you answer all these questions we think are important.” Meanwhile, users just wanted to solve their immediate problem.

We stripped it down to three essential questions that took 30 seconds to answer. User completion rates doubled.

How to Fix Your App’s Story

Here’s what I do when I’m working on a new project:

1. Start with the user’s story, not your features. What problem brought them to your app? What would a successful outcome look like for them?

2. Map out the emotional journey. Where might they feel confused, frustrated, or delighted? How can your interface support those moments?

3. Audit your current flow. Go through your app screen by screen and ask: “What story is this telling?” If you can’t answer clearly, neither can your users.

4. Test the story, not just the usability. When you’re doing user testing, don’t just ask “Can you complete this task?” Ask “How did that make you feel? What do you think the app is trying to tell you?”

The Bottom Line

Good software isn’t just functional, it’s narrative. It takes users on a journey that feels natural, predictable, and satisfying.

The best apps I’ve built weren’t necessarily the most technically complex. They were the ones that told the clearest, most compelling story about how they were going to make someone’s life better.

What story is your software telling?